All I Have
by bethereasonsomeonesmiles
Summary: Virginia 'Pepper' Potts supposedly left Tony Stark because of he refused to stop being Iron Man. The truth was that she didn't have a choice when her magical past came back to haunt her. Changing her name and moving to another country wasn't enough to stop dark wizards finding her. Set 18 years after the battle of Hogwarts and before / during Civil War.
1. An Unwanted Owl

_Ivory skin stretched over the bones of his face looking like the skin on a decomposing corpse. Black robes flowed eerily behind him in the wind, wand clutched in his long, bony fingers. On his lip-less mouth, he bared his teeth in something that vaguely resembled a smile as he slowly raised the wand at the figure of a skinny seventeen year old boy walking boldly towards him. In a flash of green, the boy was on the floor. Dead. All hope lost. _

_The monster that was once a man turned around, his red eyes meeting hers. His pupils were slits, like snake eyes. She could feel it looking at her; looking into her mind and soul. The most overwhelming pain surged through her. She couldn't tell whether it was real or emotional, but it didn't matter anyway. The war was over. _

_It had won._

* * *

Waking up with a jolt, Pepper stared around the dark room desperately trying to force her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The panic that had taken hold in her soul slowly disappeared as she realised it was just a dream. Taking several deep breaths, she gently stroked the soft, silk sheets to calm her down.

It had been a long time since she'd had that nightmare. Normally, she'd sink into a dreamless sleep, exhausted from the relentless workouts, business meetings and stress of being the girlfriend and babysitter to a billionaire, playboy genius.

On the other hand, the aforementioned billionaire often suffered from nightmares. Nightmares where alien space ships shaped like giant metal worms crawled out of the sky. Nightmares where robots he'd created aspired to wipe out all life on earth. Nightmares about terrorists using his weapons for their own gain. If they won, he believed it would be because he failed.

Clearly he'd had a nightmare earlier that night, otherwise she would have woken up next to him. Although she was glad he wasn't there to see her in such a state, it took longer for her to calm herself down when it was dark and she was alone. She needed a wee but was too nervous to get out of bed; frightened the carpet might have become devils snare while she slept. Her mouth was dry and her hands felt clammy. It was a long time before she was able to drift off again into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

_"Up." Her aunt rapped furiously on the door of the cupboard under the stairs. "Get up." She repeated, still knocking inanely. Even in the kitchen, the noise was irritating; she couldn't imagine how her brother must feel. Virginia hid her face with her shoulder length, strawberry blond hair as she fried the breakfast to try and avoid attention, good or otherwise. "NOW!" Her aunt screeched. _

_Her brother emerged sleepily from the cupboard, stifling a yawn. As always, his hair was in disarray. His glasses were lopsided from all the times their cousin had broken them with well aimed punches and their uncle taped them back together. There was something about her brother that they despised, more than his 'common' name and skinny frame... she'd recently found out it wasn't just normal for families to have a child sleep under the stairs when they didn't have enough bedrooms. _

_Too afraid to speak out at school about his abuse, in case she would be separated from her brother in the foster care system, she tried to turn a blind eye to the cruelty. Very few people liked her brother; teachers had him branded as a trouble maker for the time he climbed onto the roof and other children either bullied him or risked being bullied by her cousin. _

_"Just cook the breakfast and try not to burn anything." Her aunt hissed to her brother. Another child would have rolled his eyes, but her brother didn't dare. He just nodded, taking the spatula gently from Virginia, smiling at her kindly. Warily, she smiled back, organising the five plates for the fried breakfast. "I want everything to be perfect, for my Duddy's special day." Her aunt cooed, embracing her fat son and showering him with kisses. Her cousin endured the exuberant display of affection, his piggy eyes zoning in on the pile of presents._

_"How many are there?" He asked eagerly._

_"Thirty six. Counted them myself." Their uncle told him proudly, shuffling on the uncomfortable wooden chairs. Virginia thought she heard it creak under his large frame._

_"Thirty six?" Her cousin shouted in indignantly. "But last year I had thirty seven!" __Virginia looked down so they wouldn't see her purse her lips in distaste.__ Last year she'd had three and h__er brother's birthday had gone forgotten by everyone except her. _

_She brooded quietly on this all the way to the zoo, where her aunt had promised her darling boy they'd buy him two more presents. Her cousin was still deciding what he actually wanted as they wondered around the reptile section. Virginia sat merrily watching two multicoloured poisonous tree frogs play, while her cousin and uncle knocked rudely on the glass tank of a python, trying to get it to move. _

_After they'd gotten bored, her brother did something she didn't expect. He spoke to it; not in English, but in some weird made up language that sounded almost like a hiss. Curious, she turned to see what he was doing. The snake was looking him in the eye, nodding it's head in response to whatever her brother was saying. Eyes widening in shock, she took a step towards him... but not before her cousin knocked them both to the floor._

_"Mum! Dad! Come here! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" He shouted, face and hands pressed against the glass, eyes wide. As quickly as he had ploughed them both down, the glass disappeared. He fell into the artificial forest that lay within with a loud splash. The snake slithered out of the tank. Virginia screamed, leaping to her feet. _

_"Gin, it's ok!" Her brother assured her as she backed away, panicking, from the snake. He turned to the python, a shocked expression on his face and hissed once more at it. The snake winked at him... it actually winked at him (Virginia didn't even know snakes could wink) before slithering away. _

_She heard another rap-tap-tap and turned to the tank to see the glass had returned, their cousin was crying on one side, their aunt screaming on the other side. She had to admit, the sight was comical... until their uncle turned, his eyes fixing on her brother as if he had something to do with it. He couldn't have... could he?_

* * *

The knocking on the glass only became more urgent as Pepper drifted out of a dream of a day that seemed like it happened a lifetime ago. Light was flooding in through the drapes, and, this time, she could see the carpet was just carpet. Still half asleep, she realised the knocking in her head had only gotten louder.

She blinked several times, slowly waking herself up and soon realised that it wasn't in her head... the knocking was coming from the glass. Frowning in confusion, she pulled the matching silk robe over her pale pink pyjamas and walked over the soft, thick cream carpet to the window. _Could it be the window cleaner?_ She wondered. _No. He wasn't due for another week_. Another unwelcome memory hit her unexpectedly, making her fall backwards, landing uncomfortably on the springy floor.

* * *

_In what appeared to be a mental breakdown caused by her aunt and uncle's house being literally flooded with letters addressed to her brother, they had run away... far away... where 'they' can't find us. Virginia had no idea who 'they' were and thoroughly agreed with her cousin that her uncle had gone completely barmy. This hypothesis was proven when the Dursleys and Potters arrived at a rotting shack, only accessible by a small rowing boat that somehow managed to take the weight of all five of them as they crossed over the stormy sea. _

_The smell of damp filled her lungs as well as mould spores that made it difficult to breathe. Spray from the waves forced its way though the cracks in the walls, making the enormous old shirt that she slept in slightly damp. It had previously belonged to her brother (and her cousin before that) as did most of her belongings. Luckily, her aunt enjoyed buying girls clothes and dressing her up like a Barbie, so she didn't have to wear her cousins hand me downs every day._

_Determined not to let the melancholy setting ruin her brother's eleventh birthday, she lay next to him under a thin, moth eaten blanket that barely covered both of them on the cold, damp floor. Enormous grins were forced onto their faces as Virginia traced a cake with eleven candles in the dust on the floor. She finished the drawing just as the digital watch their cousin had been given for his birthday beeped to alert them it was midnight. On the sofa, their cousin let out an almighty snore, but didn't wake._

_"Make a wish, Harry." She whispered. Her brother closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think of something. Then he blew out the pretend candles_

_Just as the cake drawing disintegrated from the floor, there was a thud on the door. Virginia and her brother gasped, staring up. Another thud, then a third. Her brother grabbed her skinny waist and pulled her into the corner, standing protectively in front of her. Her aunt and uncle sprinted from the adjoining room, her uncle brandished a short gun. Where had he got a shot gun from? Surely he didn't have a licence! Their cousin backed into the window, unable to force his away into the crevice Virginia and her brother were hiding in._

_ The door fell open just as lightning stuck, illuminating the figure of a giant. He was twice as all as the average man and about five times as wide. She'd read stories of monsters coming to eat up little children that had misbehaved; was this him? Was he here to grind their bones to make his bread? _

_"Sorry 'bout that." He said, his accent sounding Bristolian. He didn't sound like an evil giant. In the dim light of the hut, she saw him pick up the door and fit it neatly back into place. He didn't seem so scary. Taking her hand, her brother lead her out of their hiding place, just as the man broke their uncle's shot gun. "I 'aven't see yeh since yeh were a baby 'Arry, but yer a bit more along than I would've expected... particularly 'round the middle." The giant said to their cousin, tapping his large belly to indicate what he meant. _

_"I-I'm not Harry." Their cousin stuttered._

_"I am." Harry admitted, stepping forward nervously, accidentally pulling her with him. _

_"Well a'course yeh are." The giant said, grinning. "An' yeh must be V'ginia." He nodded to Virginia, who's knuckles had turned white with fear as she clutched her brothers hand with strength she didn't know she had._

_"How do you do, sir?" She squeaked, giving him a little curtsy, not knowing what else to do._

_"Got summat fer yeh 'ere... bare in mind I mighta sat on it at some point - but it'll taste alright!" He said to her brother, rifling around in his coat that had what must have been hundreds of pockets, and eventually pulling out a white box containing a chocolate cake. The words; Happy Birthday Harry were scrawled in barely legible green writing on top of bright pink icing. It was her brother's first ever birthday cake. He stared at it speechlessly, until Virginia elbowed him, trying to force him to remember his manners._

_"Thank you!" Her brother exclaimed. That was good; if they were polite maybe this giant wouldn't eat them._

_"Not every day a young man turns eleven, is it?" He grinned sitting on the sofa that had previously been her cousins bed. _

_Almost absentmindedly, he pointed his pink umbrella at the fireplace. Virginia wondered if he wanted them to light a fire - heaven knows they'd tried a multitude of times. With the rain, wind and spray from the waves coming in from every crack in the shack (and there were a lot of cracks), the firewood was too damp to catch. The empty crisp packets her uncle attempted to use as kindling had just been an embarrassing disaster._

_The giant didn't order them to light a fire though, because as soon as the pink umbrella was in line with the fireplace a fire appeared in the grate, burning away merrily as if it had been doing so for hours. Her mouth fell open in shock. Was this a hallucination? She could feel the warmth, smell the smoke and hear the crackling of the logs and see the crisp packets shrivelling up. It was incredible. _

_She stared at her brother, willing him to say something. Moving slowly, he placed the cake on the side of the sofa and approached the giant. Virginia saw her cousins greedy eyes fix on he cake, but he didn't grab it as he usually would. Clearly he was weighing the pros and cons of stealing it. _

_"Who are you?" Harry asked shyly. _

_"Rubius Hagrid. Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts." He said proudly. Completely disregarding the blank expressions on their faces when he mentioned Hogwarts, he carried on talking. "Yeh'll know all 'bout Hogwarts." _

_"Sorry. No." her brother admitted sadly._

_"Blimey 'Arry! Didn't you ever wonder where yer mum and dad learnt it all?" Virginia was pleased to see her brother looked just as confused as she was at the giants words. As before, he didn't seem to notice they weren't following._

_"Learnt what?" Her brother asked. _

_"You're a wizard, 'Arry." _

_Four words. Four simple words that hit them like a bombshell destined to turn their lives upside down and inside out. The giant... Hagrid... had explained all about the hidden wizarding world they had no idea existed. Their aunt and uncle knew however. They had kept it from them; lied to them about their parents murder and even tried to beat the magic out of her brother. _

_Virginia wondered why they hadn't tried the same tactics with her. Perhaps it was because she'd never displayed an aptitude for magic. The giant had asked Harry whether he'd ever made anything happen when he was angry or scared... yes was the answer. She'd seen it a thousand times; from the bad hair cuts their aunt had given him that had mysteriously grown back to the jumper he didn't want to wear that magically shrank as their aunt tried to force it over his head. She had never made anything happen._

_"What about me?" She whispered to her brother that night, when they curled under Hagrid's enormous coat to sleep. The feeling of the field mice moving in one of the pockets was strangely relaxing, like they were massaging her back. "Do you think I'm a wizard?"_

_"I guess." Her brother had told her. "Well you're a girl so you wouldn't be a wizard, silly. You'd be a witch." Those words had stung her to a degree that her brother couldn't comprehend. A witch. Like the wicked witch in the wizard of oz, like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, the Evil Queen in Snow White, Dame Gothel in Rapunzel. All evil._

* * *

They'd been woken the next morning, by a small owl tapping on the window of the shack. That was the exact sound coming from behind the drapes. Taking a deep breath, Pepper opened the drapes just a fraction to see a large, brown out knocking at the window. When it spotted her, it hooted indignantly, as if annoyed to be waiting on the window ledge for hours.

Hands shaking, she opened the window to try and shoo it away. She wanted nothing more to do with that world. However, it took the open window as an invitation, souring in and dropping something into her long, strawberry blond hair making her gasp in surprise. The owl settled on Tony's night stand, happily helping itself to some dried nuts the billionaire always kept by the side of the bed in case he got snacky in the middle of the night.

Reaching into her hair, Pepper delicately pulled the envelope the owl had dropped out of her tangles, reading and rereading the weirdly specific address on the front that wizarding mail always had.

_Ms. Virginia 'Pepper' Potts,_

_Largest Room,_

_Stark Suite,_

_Avengers Facility,_

_Upstate New York_

_United States of America._

How had they found her? It had been eighteen years, in that time she had moved to a new continent, changed her name and her accent. She had a job, a social security number a life in the normal non-magic world. She hadn't used magic in years. She wasn't even in her own apartment! Sighing, she turned the letter over in her hands to see the wax seal, emblazoned with the Potter crest from an old signet ring of her father's they'd found.

Her fingers felt as if they were five times the size, too clumsy to peel back the wax. She didn't even know if she wanted to see the words lurking inside. Her time with the letter was cut short, however, as a loud alarm started blaring and a red light shone in the room. FRIDAY's scan must have identified the unregulated owl in her room. She just had time to shove the envelope in her dressing table drawer, before Sam Wilson, wearing his goggles and falcon wings over his bare chest and pale grey tracksuit bottoms he wore to bed, burst through the door.

"I got you now you little sucker!" He exclaimed, staring around the room, apparently not spotting the large owl who was now ruffling it's feathers, irritated by the alarms.

"Excuse me." Pepper said, claiming Wilson's attention. He looked at her... well towards her in any case; it was so damn hard to see his eyes with those goggles on. In reality, he was probably doing a three hundred and sixty degree sweep for whatever, or whoever he thought the intruder was. "The owl set the alarm off."

"Oh..." He looked at it, expression filled with disappointment as he noticed the owl for the first time. "I just kinda thought Stark had started investing in taxidermy." He shrugged.

"So what did you think set the alarm off?" She asked, curious at the sudden sheepish expression at consumed the falcon's face. Folding her arms, Pepper gave him the sternest look she could. The severity of her look was probably mellowed by her pink pyjamas, but it was still enough to squeeze the truth out of him.

"Well... a little guy around the size of a large ant." He shrugged. "He's not here?"

"I've been too busy focusing on the bloody owl to look for men the size of ants!" She exclaimed, noticing the British tinge her voice picked up when her frustration grew. That didn't normally happen. Perhaps it was the influx of memories that caused it. Either way, the falcon didn't seem to notice.

"What's going on?" A pair of red heads followed him into her room. Natasha Romanoff looked at Pepper's suspicious stance by the dresser, hand on the draw to keep it jammed shut. The Russian assassin never missed much. Wracking her brains, she tried to think of a justifiable reason as to why the window was open in a room that was air conditioned to the perfect temperature. She came up with nothing.

"False alarm. Just an owl." Luckily, it was Wilson who shrugged and answered before Natasha forced Pepper to explain. Wanda Maximoff, who Pepper still didn't trust a hundred percent, walked towards the bird slowly, trying not to spook it. The owl, who was probably used to being handled daily by wizards, tiptoed happily onto her wrist.

"It's so cute!" She exclaimed, stroking its feathers. Happy with the attention, the owl nibbled her fingers affectionately.

"That is a health and safety violation." Tony told them, striding in dressed in his full Iron Man suit, expecting a fight. He sounded a little like a five year old having a tantrum. "It could have rabies or aids."

"I don't think owls carry aids, Tony." Maximoff chuckled. "Flees yes, STDs no."

"Depends on what he was planning to do with the bird." Romanoff asked, one eyebrow raised suggestively, a small smirk on her face.

"Ha ha." Tony snapped sarcastically. "Get that thing out of my compound. This is supposed to be a sterile area!" Maximoff ignored him, picking a nut out of the bag on Tony's nightstand for the owl. Tony pointed at her furiously. "Stop feeding that thing my nuts!" Romanoff's smirk widened and even Pepper cracked a smile, despite confusion and shock she felt about her past coming back to haunt her.

As if on cue, the owl spread its wings and soured out of the open window. The five people stood in an uncomfortable in silence, the whole incident feeling a bit anti-climatic. It almost felt as if they were weighting for an explosion or some other sort of disaster. Not for the first time, Pepper reflected on how messed up all their lives were.

"Well that was a bit of excitement for the morning." The Vision announced rising up gracefully through the floorboards. Pepper screamed in shock at the sight the the disembodied head, her hand flying to her chest as if she was having an atrial fibrillation. She was reminded of the way the Hogwarts ghosts moved around the castle... these memories were no longer welcome in her life.

"Vision, we talked about this." Maximoff scolded him. "Walk through doors, not floors."

"Terribly sorry to alarm you, Ms. Potts." He rose completely out of the floor boards, his red cloak waving gracefully behind him despite the lack of wind. "The Captain Rogers is making pancakes if anyone's interested." Slowly the avengers filed out of Pepper's bedroom, leaving her and Romanoff.

"Is there anything you wanna tell me?" She asked, after staring at Pepper for a long time. Pepper straightened her shoulders, a small smile on her otherwise completely neutral face.

"No." She shook her head, as if she had no idea what Romanoff was talking about. "Nothing."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**This was inspired by reading loads of Harry Potter fanfiction. It made me remember day dreams I used to have when the films first came out about being Harry Potter's little sister and Pepper Pott's name just seemed to play into this idea quite nicely. I'm cherry picking sections from the Harry Potter books and films for flashbacks to Pepper's childhood. This is set eighteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts after Age of Ultron and before / during Civil War. This is one explanation as to why Pepper wasn't in Civil war. **_

**_Please let me know if you like the idea and I'd welcome any constructive criticism! :) _**


	2. The Wizarding World

Instead on indulging in the fantastic breakfast Captain Rogers had prepared, Pepper sat silently brooding. The letter wasn't safe in the dressing table. Even if the draw had a lock on it; even if she'd had the time to properly bury it amongst her socks, it still wouldn't be secure. Looking around the table, she knew she wasn't just being paranoid. She was surrounded by _super-humans_ who's jobs were to sniff out the suspicious and analyse the abnormal.

Vision could literally walk through walls and unlock the bedroom door. Maximoff could open the draw, empty the contents and dangle it in front of her face without touching a single object. Why would they invade her privacy like that? Because the Russian Assassin, who probably knew a hundred different ways to prise the truth out of her, was already suspicious. What made it worse, was that she had no explanation for her abnormal behaviour that morning. She couldn't even begin to think of one because the ruddy letter wasn't safe!

"You feelin' ok, ma'am?" Captain Rogers' voice plucked her out of her thoughts. Wondering how long she'd been staring thoughtfully at her crepe, Pepper glanced casually around the room. All eyes were fixed on her.

"Yes thank you." She smiled. It was the same smile she used in business negotiations when she wasn't getting her way. Polite. Convincing. How many of them could tell that it was completely fake? "This looks lovely, when did you learn to cook such perfect crepes?" Pepper asked, desperate to change the subject to avert attention from her.

"Occupied France." Captain Rogers admitted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, embarrassed by her praise. "The commandos and I had just egged a hydra compound; Jerry was on our tail. A khaki-whacky put us up in her maison and taught us a few things - even gave a few of the boys her pin up."

"Wow, Cap." Romanoff raised a single eyebrow seductively. "You know the French are known for more than their cooking. She teach you anything else?" When the attention left Pepper, she sighed in relief. If she didn't know Romanoff better, Pepper would have thought that she'd forgotten her suspicions, but she'd known the spy for too long to believe that. Tony began to tease Captain Rogers, who's face has turned a shade of red that dulux paint-charts would classify as 'Berry Smoothie'. Pepper frowned, trying to figure out when she'd first started to classify the severity of blushes by a colour chart.

* * *

_Exhausted, dehydrated, burnt and starving, her brother staggered into the living room after having spent the day cleaning the windows, washing the car, trimming the flower beds, mowing the lawn, pruning and watering the roses and repainting the garden bench. Under Aunt Petunia eagle eyes, he was careful to only step on the newspaper their aunt had laid out for him so he wouldn't tread filth into the carpet. Virginia resisted the instinct to help him walk; they'd both be in trouble if he accidentally transferred dirt onto her over exuberant blue, frilly, stupid dress._

_Their uncle was retying Dudley's bright red bow tie for the umpteenth time, trying to get it symmetrical. For this attempt, her cousin was standing as still as a statue, his watery blue eyes fixed on the three story pavlova and the succulent joint of roast pork her aunt had spent the day making, like a hyena staring at the corpse of a wildebeest. It still took another three attempts before the tie was up to her uncle's standards. Only then, did he seem to notice his family congregated around him._

_"Right." Uncle Vernon clapped his hands together cheerfully. "The Mason's will be here any minute, let's do one last run through. Now Petunia, let's start with you. When the Mason's arrive, you will be..." _

_"In the lounge." She beamed, the pitch of her voice increased to a level almost beyond human hearing. "Waiting to welcome them graciously into our home." The over the top, ultra posh British accent she spoke with was one the whole family had been practising by imitating videos of the queen's speeches._

_"Perfect." Uncle Vernon nodded approvingly. Virginia and Harry exchanged amused glances; if there was one thing they could count on to ruin this business deal, it was the painfully over enthusiastic welcome the Dursley's were planning on. "And Dudley?"_

_"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley recited, miming opening a door. The pompous expression on his face, mixed with his unusually stiff posture make him look like he was attempting to hold in a particularly painful fart. "May I take your coats Mr and Mrs Mason?" Biting her lip, Virginia didn't dare glance at her brother; if she did, she was certain she'd start to giggle. However, her brother and her aunt didn't have the same restraint. Her aunt was close to tears and announced;_

_"They'll love him!" hugging Dudley tightly. Much to Uncle Vernon's irritation, the gesture knocked Dudley's bow tie askew. While he was fixing it, Harry had the chance to take few deep breaths to cover up his snigger, to the point where he sounded like he was hyperventilating. The noise was enough to distract their uncle, bringing his dangerous gaze back to Harry. Desperate to quell her uncles wroth, Virginia raised her hand smartly._

_"I'll be in the kitchen." She told them, her voice confident and business like. Uncle Vernon nodded in approval. "Waiting to take orders for aperitifs. Then I'll come around with Aunt Petunia's delicious appetisers." The Dursley's liked it when she was enthusiastic, so she beamed as if remembering all that was somehow an achievement._

_It wasn't enough to make them forget her brother though. Nothing ever was. All eyes turned to the oldest Potter, staring as if he was dirt they'd found on their shoes._

_"And you?" Her uncle said, the menacing tone of voice emphasising just how little they they thought of him. Virginia squeezed her brother's arm and gave him a sorry smile; she hated to see them treat her brother with such callousness._

_"I'll be in my bedroom." He told them with a hint too much attitude in his voice. "Making no noise and pretending that I don't exist."_

_"To right you will. This is may well be the biggest business deal of my career. And you will not mess it up." Uncle Vernon warned. Harry nodded, before marching angrily towards the stairs. Virginia caught his wrist before he got to them._

_"Happy birthday, Harry." She said in a quiet voice so the Dursley's wouldn't hear. Despite her sentiment not being particularly amusing Harry let out a short, derisive chuckle. She could tell from his body language that he still hadn't had a single birthday letter from his school friends._

_"I'm lucky to have you, Gin." He smiled wanly. "Don't know what I'd do without you." A wave of guilt hit her as he made his way upstairs; her brother was spending his night pretending that he didn't exist while she was prancing around at a dinner party. It wasn't fair. To hide the tears in her eyes, she slowly arranged the various bottles wines and spirits her aunt and uncle had accumulated for the Mason's in alphabetical order._

_The dinner party started got off to a rather shaky start when, barely two minutes after the Mason's arrived, the most curious noise started coming from upstairs. It sounded almost like a small creature being hit repeatedly against a wall. Uncle Vernon glared accusingly at Virginia as she walked into the living room with a platter of appetisers._

_"Dudley did you leave your television on again?" Virginia asked, offering up some feeble explanation for the strange noise. Unfortunately, her cousin had a particularly slow mind, and immediately, indignantly denied it. It was lucky her uncle caught on to her lie._

_"Well how else can you explain that noise?" He chuckled, ruffling Dudley's thin, blond hair. "Little tike."_

_"I'll just pop upstairs and turn it off." Virginia offered before any one else was able to speak._

_"She's an absolute angel." She heard Mrs Mason coo as she left the room. "You must let us borrow her for this dinner party we have next month..." Virginia made a mental note to smirk at Dudley when she walked back into the room to show off the fact that she'd made a better impression than he had. Light as a summer breeze, she tapped on Harry's door with her left hand (the plate of nibbles was still balanced in her right hand) before opening the it. __Her brother was standing by the wardrobe... actually he was in front of the wardrobe, pressing it closed with all his weight._

_"Merlin's beard! I thought you were uncle Vernon!" He exclaimed in a whisper._

_"No but he's pretty angry. His face has gone from Flush Pink, to Sorbet to Berry Smoothie in the last two minutes, and you can bet it'll be Raspberry Bellini by the time I get back down stairs." Harry stifled a laugh; their categories for the colours of their uncle's face had stemmed from the multitude of dulux colour charts Aunt Petunia had collected when redoing the house a few years back. "Harry this isn't funny! You'll get in trouble!" She whispered sternly. "Appetiser?" She added, remembering her manners as she offered him the platter._

_"I know, Gin." Harry hissed back, stuffing several appetisers into his mouth. "I can explain. This is Dobby. " He stepped away from the wardrobe, allowing the door to fall open. Out hopped a small, wrinkled, grey-brown creature an a pair of enormous green, orb-like eyes that reminded her a little bit of tennis balls. It's body was concealed within a filthy robe that looked mysteriously like a pillowcase."He's a house elf." Harry added, as if that was enough of an explanation._

_Shock overwhelmed her senses, so much so that she didn't notice the plate falling out of her hands. With a loud crash, it shattered, scattering bite sized savoury treats and shards of china across the room. Barely noticing her accident, Virginia stared at the little creature, who proceeded to turn around, smile at her and start speaking._

_"It's an honour to meet a relative of the famous Harry Potter." The house elf bowed low, turning Virginia's cheeks scarlet._

_"It's erm... good to meet you too." She smiled nervously, before whipping her head back to her brother. "Why is there an elf in your bedroom?" She hissed, pretending Dobby couldn't hear despite having such enormous bat-like ears that he could probably even hear their uncle's steady stream of mildly offensive jokes word for word._

_"It's not like I invited him!" Harry protested, offended by Virginia's scolding. "He's trying to stop me from going back to Hogwarts..." His explanation was interrupted by Dobby leaping on the bed, claiming their attention._

_"Yes! Harry Potter cannot go back to school." The elf said, wide eyed. "There is a plot. A plot to make the most terrible things happen!"_

_"What terrible things?" Virginia asked curiously._

_"Who's plotting them?" Harry added to her question. Both of them stared at him, wide eyed and fascinated._

_"I... Can't..." The elf hissed urgently, body shaking as he fought against his natural instincts of obey his masters and his personal desire to save her brother._

_"Ok, I understand..." Harry whispered very quickly, and very quietly, as Dobby reached out, his little fingers grabbing hold of the bedside lamp. "...You can't say."_

_Virginia leapt back as Dobby swung the lamp around. His movement yanked the plug out of it's socket and set it flying across the room, knocking against poor Hegwig's cage. The bird, who had been snoozing peacefully, woke with an almighty screech. Harry grabbed hold of the lamp, trying to pull it out of the elf's hands while Dobby was trying to hit himself over the head, squealing loudly about how he couldn't divulge the information they wanted. When Harry had finally prized it out of Dobby's hands, the trio stood, as if on pause, listening intently to the living room. A wave of silence engulfed them, they couldn't hear anything; not the Mason's uncomfortable laughter nor Uncle Vernon's booming voice and Aunt Petunia's high pitched giggles. Seconds passed feeling like hours, until they heard Uncle Vernon's booming footsteps on the stairs._

_"Now you've done it." Harry murmured, grabbing Dobby's pillowcase and thrusting him back in the wardrobe. Virginia gave him a disapproving look. "What?" He asked incredulously._

_"Well, that was a bit rude..."_

_She never got to finish her sentence as Uncle Vernon burst through Harry's door. Backing away nervously, Virginia could only watch as Uncle Vernon strode across the room, stamping mayonnaise and pastry deep into the carpet fibres until he was towering above Harry. When she saw the wardrobe door swing open a crack, Virginia shifted her position, so she was standing in front of it, just in case Dobby wondered out._

_"What do you think you're doing?" Uncle Vernon growled, his fat finger stuffed threateningly in Harry's face. "You just ruined the punchline of my Japanese golfer joke."_

_"Sorry uncle, but... that's probably for the best..." Virginia started to say, but her uncle wasn't listening, he was too focused on Harry._

_"If I hear another peep out of you, boy, you'll wish you've never been born." He straightened up, "Come Virginia. You can clean up this mess later." Tiptoeing carefully between the shards of china, she muttered her apologies to Harry before obediently chasing uncle Vernon down the stairs._

_Part of her had known that wouldn't be the end of the drama, but she ever expected the evening to proceed the way it did. Standing in the kitchen, making another round of drinks, she heard a thumping on the stairs. Confused, she peered out of the kitchen door, to see Dobby running down the hallway being chased by Harry who was trying his best to keep the noise to a minimum._

_"What the-" Virginia started to say, as Dobby hid behind the work surface, a bundle of letters addressed to Harry in his hands. Clearly, these were the letters from Harry's friends they'd been sending all summer, only Dobby had intercepted them, trying to stop Harry from going back._

_"Dobby! Please!" Harry hissed, quiet enough so the Dursley's couldn't hear but loud enough for Dobby to pick up his words on those enormous ears of his._

_"Harry Potter must say he's not going back to Hogwarts." The elf said. Virginia willed him just to agree; he didn't have to mean it, he just had to say it to stop this elf from ruining their uncle's deal. If this went badly, not even Dumbledore himself could protect Harry from their uncle's wroth._

_"I can't." Harry said desperately. "Hogwarts is my home!"_

_"Then Dobby must so it sir." The elf smiled mischievously. "For Harry Potter's own good." The elf clicked it's fingers and the three story pavlova rose off the table. Virginia clamped her hands over her mouth, staring wide eyed at the floating dessert._

_Harry pushed the elf aside and rushed towards the pavlova, willing it to come back to him. He put his hands out to try and grab it but missed by a millimetre. It carried on floating towards the living room until it was hovering over Mrs Mason. Virginia saw the house elf click his fingers once more sending the whole dessert splattering down on Mrs Mason's head._

_"Oh. My. God." She breathed._

_"I'm so sorry..." Uncle Vernon stuttered. "My nephew... he's very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets him. That's why we kept him upstairs." His tone was reasonable. His face had turned from Roasted Red to Volcanic Red in a matter of moments. If it was possible, she was certain steam would start coming out of his ears._

_They could have gotten away with it... sent the Mason's away and arranged a meeting at the office to try and turn the event into a huge joke... until and owl swooped through the open window, dropping a letter into Mrs Mason's hair. Mrs Mason leapt up with a scream and ran out the front door. Apparently, she was terrified of birds. Virginia closed her eyes in despair. That was it. The deal was ruined. Uncle Vernon pointed accusingly at Harry._

_"Pick. It. Up. And. Read. It." Harry slowly bent down, picking up the envelope and unfolding the letter. She could see the parchment quivering as his hands shook. "Out. Loud."_

_"Dear Mr Potter. We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence. As you know underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school. Further spell work on your part may lead to expulsion from said school. Enjoy your holidays! Mafalda Hopkirk." Uncle Vernon fixed Harry with such a venomous glare that, if looks could kill, would landed Harry in hospital, seriously ill._

_"You're never going back to that school. You're never going to see your freaky friends again. You hear me?" Hell, Harry's friends could probably hear him. Kangaroos in Australia could probably hear him! "NEVER!" He roared, face the colour of Sumptuous Plum._

* * *

Shock coursing through her bloodstream at the memory, Pepper dropped the bottle of maple syrup just as she had dropped the plate of appetisers all those years ago. Luckily Maximoff was able to catch it in a shimmering red mist before it hit the floor, else the pot would have shattered, spraying syrup across the kitchen.

"Ms. Potts?" Captain Rogers' voice was full of unwelcome concern.

"Sorry!" Pepper gasped when she realised her accent had become unquestionably British. taking a deep breath, she hid her shaking hands in her dressing gown pockets and tried to smile at the collection of superheroes sitting around the table. "I just have..." She searched her mind, trying to think of a reasonable excuse. "Ladies problems." She said, switching the expression on her face from one of panic to one that was cool, calm and slightly embarrassed. The shade of Captain Roger's cheeks deepened to become the colour of 'Raspberry Bellini'. She turned and hurried out of the kitchen, praying no one was following.

"Honey, that's a bit too much information." Tony called after her.

Pepper didn't realise she was holding her breath until she'd locked the bedroom door, opened the dressing table drawer and saw the unopened letter nestled comfortably around her socks. With shaking hands, she pulled the envelope out and turned it over in her hands. There was no mistaking her brother's handwriting on the front, it hadn't changed in eighteen years. Hers had changed. Everything about herself had changed. Did she really want to see what was inside? She left that life behind her a long time ago.

* * *

_For some reason the Dursleys took most their anger about the botched business deal out on her brother. However, Virginia wasn't completely spared. In the three days following the 'incident' she began to feel a little like Cinderella. Every morning, her aunt gave her a list of chores to keep her busy and to keep her away from her troublesome brother. She wasn't allowed to leave the house; she allowed to speak to her brother. She went to bed aching and bruised and, more often than not, in tears._

_Her only glimmer of sunlight in these gloomy days was the time she spent secretly sitting outside Harry's door, playing battleships and noughts and crosses through the cat flap their aunt used to push meagre portions of food through to him. Their uncle had installed the cat flap himself, but he had to get an expert in to add the bars to Harry's window._

_On the third day of Harry's imprisonment, her silent treatment was finally lifted when she was sitting at the breakfast table, tucking into a bowl of cornflakes. Well the dust from the bottom of the cornflake box. Dudley had eaten the rest as well as a full English breakfast to ensure she didn't enjoy her breakfast._

_"Virginia we've been thinking." Her uncle said. Apparently Dudley's taunting had reminded the rest of the family that she was there. "We've been looking at schools... your brother will be going to St Brutus's of course (it's a fine institution for hopeless cases) and you will be going to the catholic girls school... what's it called again Petunia? St Margot's?"_

_"That catholic school for misbehaving girls? Is that a joke?" Virginia snapped, regretting her offensive tone of voice instantly. The pent up frustration, hunger and loneliness had her speaking to them with the same anger Harry had when he was angry. She knew this wouldn't end well. "I worked hard to get a place at Wallingtons Girls Grammar School."_

_"You and your nasty brother need special handling..." Aunt Petunia stepped in, standing behind her husband in support, her bony hands clutching his shoulders._

_"Special handling my arse!" She shouted. "It's not like I'm asking to go to Hogwarts!" It was the wrong thing to say. She knew never _ever_ to mention anything remotely related of magic to her aunt and uncle._

_"What did you say?" Uncle Vernon growled, his massive frame rising, in what looked like slow motion, out of his chair so he was towering over her. Virginia didn't reply... she doubted she speak could if she tried. "YOU WILL NOT SAY THE NAME OF THAT SCHOOL IN MY HOUSE!" He roared, saliva flying across her face. She had seen him talk to her brother like this, but never to her. "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" _

_"With pleasure." Her voice sounded strangely confident. With courage she didn't know she had, she stood from the table, abandoning the remains of her breakfast and flicked her hair as she turned so it sharply clipped her uncle's nose before marching upstairs._

_"Gin?" She heard a small voice say as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. "You ok?"_

_"I'm fine." She sat on the other side of his door, legs folded._

_"I don't believe you." He stuck his hand through the cat flap, and she took it in her own. They didn't say anything, they didn't need to. It was enough to know that he had her back and she had his. He was all she had in the world._

_Sleep didn't come easy for her that night. Nightmares about going to a girls school full of violent drug addicts plagued her thoughts. Virginia woke suddenly with a nightmare that students were sneaking into her room... and someone was sneaking into her room. Panicked, she leapt up in bed, ready to scream the house down as her bedroom door slowly opened. It didn't creek; none of the doors in the Dursley household would ever dare do such a thing. Reaching out, Virginia grabbed the first thing her hands touched to defend herself. Unfortunately, it was a stuffed cuddly toy penguin she'd liberated from Dudley's bedroom before he had the opportunity to dismember it._

_"Woah! Put the penguin down." A pleasant voice had whispered. The tall figure had his hands raised as if in surrender. Her fear outweighed her desire to laugh, so she held the penguin higher._

_"Who are you... I mean... I demand you know who you are!" She hissed, keeping her voice quiet for some reason. The boy stepped forward, holding up a torch. He had bright red hair, a face covered in freckles and a kind, if slightly mocking, smile._

_"I'm Fred. My brother George is just getting your brother's trunk and broomstick from the cupboard under the stairs. We're here to rescue you and your brother from the wicked trolls holding you hostage." He sat down on the bed beside her, and tapped her nose with his finger making her chuckle. "You've got to keep really quiet though, otherwise the trolls will wake."_

_Fred obviously thought she was younger than eleven... but she was half asleep, so she was grateful that he turned packing up her clothes and favourite toys as quickly and quietly as possible into a game. They were soon done, and Fred held one hand as they silently moved her belongings into Harry's room._

_Outside the window a blue Ford Anglia floated happily. The bars, along with the window, we're lying in a hedge in the Dursley's front garden._

_"Oh. My. God." Virginia whispered, staring wide eyed._

_"It's ok." Fred's voice told her, but the words didn't come from Fred. Frowning, she turned to see a second Fred, completely identical to the first standing with Harry's trunk in one hand, and broomstick in the other. Virginia knew it was rude to stare, but she couldn't help herself. How could there be two of him?_

_"Got the trunk?" Fred asked his doppelgänger casually. When she thought about it, she remembered Fred saying his brother George was getting the trunk. She felt stupid when she realised they were obviously identical twins._

_"Got it Fred!" George grinned. "Got the sister?"_

_"Got it George!" Fred grinned the same grin back. Virginia took a small amount of offence at being called 'it' but there wasn't time to protest. Uncle Vernon could wake up at any moment._

_"Let's go!" They whispered in unison. In the room next door, they heard Uncle Vernon snore loudly. They froze, waiting to see if they could hear any other movement. Silence._

_As a team, they placed Virginia in the backseat, before getting Ron, their younger brother, to move the car around to place her little suitcase and Harry's trunk in the boot of the car. Harry checked the room for anything he'd forgotten while Fred and George climbed into the car. Fred stayed in the back with Virginia while George awkwardly swapped places with Ron. Harry started to climb into the front seat when Hedwig let out a loud squawk._

_"I've forgotten Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed, clambering back into the room, just as the hall light came on with a shout of:_

_"THAT RUDDY BIRD!"_

_"Hurry Harry!" Ron gulped loudly, as Harry passed the snowy owl to him and started to climb through into the passenger seat. On the other side of the door, they could hear Uncle Vernon fumbling with his keys, trying to find the right one to open Harry's door. Of course he didn't need it - the Weasley's had already unpicked it. He'd be fuming when he finally found the right key and realised the door wasn't locked._

_Uncle Vernon burst through the door just in time to grab hold of Harry's ankle. Fred, Virginia And Ron grabbed hold of any part of Harry they could. Fred had him in a head lock, Virginia had a handful of his pyjama shirt in her hand while Ron had his arm twisted backwards at an awkward angle._

_"Let go of me!" Harry shouted._

_"I think not!" Uncle Vernon roared, "you and that BLOODY PIGEON and your STUPID SISTER aren't going anywhere!"_

_"Just drive!" Virginia shouted. George nodded and began pulling away from the house, pulling uncle Vernon with them. Luckily, he lost his grip on Harry at the last second and fell below them, into the bushes. "Do you think he'll be ok?" Virginia asked worriedly, as Harry pulled himself into the car and firmly closed the door.._

_"Who cares?" Ron exclaimed._

_"He's standing Gin, it's ok." Harry told her, reaching back to tousle his sisters hair fondly. "He's shaking his fist at us."_

_"Because that's going to make you go back." Ron rolled his eyes animatedly. "But the way Harry, we've written to you almost a hundred times to ask if you'd like to come over. Why didn't you reply?" Harry launched into the story of Dobby while Virginia stared out of the window at the shrinking houses below. Since she left Privet Drive, she felt so light, as if she was flying instead of the car. It was weird, good weird, to feel so free._

* * *

The memory of a time when all she had in the world was her brother, filled her with shame. She'd abandoned him; the least she could do would be to read the letter. With a defeated sigh, Pepper tore open the envelope and unfolded out the letter that lay within. It was short and too the point, with no pleasantries. Clearly he was still hurting from the way she'd left things.

_Sorry to do this to you Pepper, but there's something I really need to talk to you about. I can't write it in case this letter is intercepted. Meet me at eleven this morning the Imperial Hotel bar on 2440 E New York Street. Brooklyn._

Slightly taken aback by his bluntness, Pepper folded the letter and placed it in a hidden pocket inside her purse. She didn't dare destroy it while she was still in the avengers compound; they might be able piece it back together. Taking a deep, calming breath, she looked at her watch. She had one and a half hours until her brother would be waiting for her. It would be easy to say that an important client had arranged an emergency meeting, it wouldn't even be a complete lie.

"Pepper?" Tony's voice knocked her out of her planning. "Pepper why is this door locked? FRIDAY unlock the door." The AI unlocked the door for him. Seeing Tony's confused, hurt face made her pause. There had been a day, not too long ago when he'd told her she was all he had. Despite his faults, she loved him with all her heart.

She had a life. A life in the non-magical world with the man standing in front of her. She couldn't just run off when the famous Harry Potter sent her a mysterious note after eighteen years of silence.

"You wanna tell me why you're acting so weird?" He asked. "Pepper, talk to me!" He didn't give her a chance to reply between sentences. The way he was talking reminded her of her first conversation with Hermione. She always spoke so fast. Cursing herself for letting herself drift off again, Pepper zoned in on what Tony was saying, determined not letting her mind wonder again. "Is this because of the compound? Because I built another AI? Because I built another suit? You know Steve and the others need me..."

"Wait what?" She asked incredulously, his words finally registering in her brain. "You built another suit? After that disaster with Ultron?" This time, she didn't let him answer. She didn't need him to answer, she already knew what he was going to say. They'd had that same argument almost a thousand times. "Tony we talked about this! It's dangerous..."

"I know! I know!" He didn't give her the opportunity to finish her rant before he started talking again, looking like a school boy caught off guard. "But, in my defence, I thought you already knew!"

"How is that a defence? Don't try and answer that! Gods sake Tony! I'm too busy running your company to be constantly watching your every move as well." She snapped. Tony winced at her words, but she didn't allow herself to start feeling guilty. "Tony, you promised me you were done with this..."

"I am. I will be. We've just got one more thing to do today. Cap's identified this terrorist group that are harvesting weapons from the battle of New York..." What could she do? Argue? Tell him she should be more important? If she tried, his God Complex would kick in as it always did, and he'd guilt her; tell her people could die if he didn't go. She couldn't say no.

"Do what you have to do." Her voice was harsh, letting her hurt and anger show.

"Last time. I promise." He grinned, kissing her before rushing off like a child who's mother just gave him permission to play outside. Slowly, she unfolded the letter once again, staring at her brother's handwriting.

* * *

_Not wanting to trip and make a fool of herself in front of the whole school before she had even started, Virginia stared at her feet making sure she didn't step on her robes. As she and the other first years were funnel between the tables, she wanted to admire the floating candles and search the tables for her brother, but only dared to when they were clustered at the front of the great hall._

_Virginia quickly spotted Fred and George's bright red hair on what she guessed was the Gryffindor table, but she couldn't spot Harry. He must've gotten lost in the sea of faces staring up at the first years._

_"I can't see Har..." She started to whisper, but thought better of it when Ginny's cheeks started to colour. Clearly she had been looking for Harry as well. "Never mind." She mumbled. Professor McGonagall, a stern looking woman with her grey hair tied back into a tight bun that emphasised her sharp cheek bones, turned to them. She stood next to a shabby old hat sitting on a stool. Virginia and Ginny exchanged confused glances._

_"When I call your name, sit on the stool and the hat will sort you into your houses." Professor McGonagall announced, gracefully unrolling a long parchment scroll supposedly containing their names._

_"I can't believe Fred and George told us we'd have to battle a troll." Ginny whispered angrily at her._

_While her friend felt disgruntled, Virginia just felt relieved. The thought that she'd have to battle a troll without knowing a single spell had been terrifying. All she had learnt this summer was that you could pick a lock with a hair pin, how to degnome a garden and that she would be dreadful at quidditch: __She and Ginny had snuck outside early to use their brother's broomsticks before the boys woke. Unfortunately, that had ended up with Virginia in a pond, where she'd been terrified she'd be eaten by some kind of magical gold fish, while Ginny zoomed around on Harry's nimbus 2000 showing off tricks she'd taught herself._

_"Colin Creevey." McGonagall's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. A little sandy haired boy hopped forward excitedly, almost tripping over his robes in his eagerness to get to the stage. He placed the sorting hat on his head. After a few seconds the hat opened its mouth (Virginia wondered whether all hats in the wizarding worlds had mouths) and called:_

_"GRYFFINDOR!"_

_"This is phantasmagorical!" Virginia breathed. Ginny grinned back at her, apparently feeling the same thing. It was strange that Ginny was so awed by Hogwarts, especially as she'd grown up with a magical family._

_"Luna Lovegood." A girl with silver-blond curls they'd met on the train reading a magazine upside down skipped up to the chair, a dream-like smile on her face. She was placed into Ravenclaw. A few more students went up to the chair before her name was called. "Virginia Potter." Whispers spread around the hall like wild fire._

_She'd known her brother was famous, but she didn't quite believe just how famous he was. It was with unsteady feet that she walked up to the chair, and put the large hat on her head. It was so big, that it fell down her face, covering her eyes and resting uncomfortably on her nose._

_"Hmm... your brother was particularly difficult to place." The hat said. The voice in her head made her jump; she hadn't heard it speak to any of the other students. "You don't appear to be any different... unlike your brother you would not do well in Slytherin... but you are extremely loyal , and very smart." Did the hat really get all this from her head? She didn't feel particularly loyal or smart. She just felt slightly queazy. The hat chuckled. "Yes, yes... your brother felt the same way. Now I do find the reaction to your brother interesting... very interesting... you're loyal to him, there's no doubt about that. But it annoys you that he doesn't always think before he rushes into dangerous situations. It what makes him a good Gryffindor. But you're different. You calculate everything you do and say before you so it. You're intelligent. You're a... RAVENCLAW!" He shouted the last word, so everyone could hear._

_The Ravenclaws cheered loudly, louder than they did for Luna and the other students sorted into Ravenclaw. Virginia blushed as she took her place between Luna and a third year called Cho Chang. The Gryffindor table, however, was strangely quiet; it was as if they were expecting her to join them._

_Embarrassed by the amount of attention she was getting, Virginia stared up at the bewitched ceiling. The night sky was clear. There were no clouds and no light pollution so she could see every star in the sky. In astronomy she'd learn the names of every one of those stars. Excitement filled her like it never had before. She'd never expected to feel so thrilled about finding a place in this strange magical world. Maybe becoming a witch wouldn't be too terrible after all._

_Something blue streamed across the night sky. Was that a shooting star? She frowned, it had looked more like a blue car flying over their heads..._

* * *

The same feeling of excitement flooded over her at the prospect of reentering the wizarding world after so much time.

Much to the annoyance of the pedestrians around her, Pepper paused the the automatic doors, standing right in everyone's way as she built up the courage to go into the hotel. It was only when a few people cajoled her that she actually strode through the doors, walking straight to the bar. If it hadn't been eleven in the morning, she would have ordered something stronger than coffee - she was craving a fire whiskey. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she scanned the room to see if she could see a glimpse of jet back hair or a flash of his bright green eyes.

Until that moment, she'd been treating it like any other client meeting. It was only when she caught sight of familiar white blond hair that she realised exactly what she was getting herself into. It wasn't too late to back out now. All she had to do was leave. Walk out. She could pretend she never got the letter, pretend she'd never had magic. It would be so easy. However, while her mind was screaming to leave, her feet betrayed her. They walked straight up to the man, forcing her to stand boldly before him.

"Malfoy." She barked angrily.

"Ahh Potter." He smiled. "That man over there? In the blue cap by the bar? He will stun you if you try to run. The woman by the kitchen with the buggy is also mine. In that buggy are some modified instant darkness powder, you remember what that does right? Cuts out your senses. The gentleman by the windows and the fire exit are also mine. Sit down Potter. I won't bother threatening you, I think your situation is quite clear to you." Pepper looked around; he had all the exits covered. She still had the Iron Man bracelets on; with a touch of a button the suit would be here. But Malfoy and his followers were on edge now, expecting for to fight. So, instead of fighting, she sat with as much poise and dignity as she could muster.

* * *

**_Authors Note:_**

**_Thanks to everyone who commented on / followed / favourited the last chapter! I am honestly amazed and so happy at people's the positive reaction. Hopefully you all like this chapter just as much - sorry it's so long!_**

_**I've got a good idea on where the story's going, just wondering what to do with the flashbacks. At the moment I'm writing them in the same order as the books, but I'm thinking maybe just choose an experience for Pepper from any of the books that's most relevant to what's happening in their adult life, that's more similar to the way flashback scenes are done in Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.**_

_***Edit***_

_**I read a theory a while back that said the Dursleys were so cruel to Harry because of the Horcrux inside him. They actually started as reasonable took in their nephew out of the goodness of their hearts but living with a Horcrux for so long made them bad tempered and unreasonable, like when Ron, Harry and Hermione had the ring. I quite like this idea which, initially, was why I thought the Dursley's would favour Virginia over Harry. **_

_**Initially I was going to put Pepper in Gryffindor because she does do some incredibly brave things in the Iron Man movies (and I'm really looking forward to her part in End Game). However, she has traits of other houses; she's incredibly loyal to Tony which would suggest Hufflepuff. I put her in Ravenclaw because she is really smart - you have to be to survive as the CEO of a billion dollar company. Also she's very inquisitive, like in the first Iron Man when she asks Coulson what his lock picking device is. I think this would be a Ravenclaw trait. **_

_**Thanks for reading! :) **_


	3. Snake in the Grass

"Pepper Potter." His silver blond hair might be thinning, his face lined and goatee thick but Malfoy's voice remained the same bored drawl it had always been. "How were you ever cut out for Ravenclaw? Didn't you wonder why your brother's handwriting hadn't changed? Didn't you even think to cast a revealing charm on it?" Now he spoke, it seemed obvious that the meeting could have been a trap. This realisation combined with his condescending tone made her feel utterly humiliated. Determined not to allow him to see that he'd bested her, Pepper sat back in her chair as if she'd expected to see him the while time.

"How did you find me?" She asked. Her expression was the same as the one she'd worn back when her job description included escorting Tony's one night stands from his apartment. If she could hide her emotions back then, she could sure as hell hide them now. "I haven't used magic in..."

"Eighteen years." He raised his eyebrow in place of his usual smirk. "You weren't that hard to find. Look at enough muggle newspapers and, even in England, they mention Iron Man and his..." Searching his brain for the right word, Malfoy paused. When he settled upon the perfect end to the sentence, his cruel smile widened. "Love interest."

He was clever. Even when he'd been a teenager he'd been able to identify the smallest, seemingly insignificant detail about his victims to taunt them; to get under their skin and flare up their anger. Now he was older, he'd clearly perfected the art of being a slimy git.

Well, she wasn't a child anymore; experts had torn her life apart analysing her competence when Tony had first made her CEO. Experience had taught her to ignore their petty jibes and get on with her job. Six years at school with Draco Malfoy had taught her that.

"I'm CEO of Stark Industries." Pepper didn't allow herself to take the bait and let her anger overwhelm her as her brother often had in the past. Staying calm, she maintained eye contact as she spoke, almost looking like she was jinxing him. "I am _not_ just his love interest."

"Sorry. Hit a bit of a sore spot there, didn't I?" If his words had come from anyone else, they would have sounded apologetic. However, the thick contempt in his voice along with the amused expression on his face suggested otherwise.

Pulling his wand out of his moleskin bag, Malfoy only needed to flick it to make two mugs of butterbeer on the table. _Look at me_, the gesture seemed to say, _look how I've mastered non-verbal spells_. Pepper looked around desperately to make sure no one had seen; all the non-magical people had their noses in their mobile phones or laptops. They weren't paying attention to anyone else. Sighing in relief, she turned back to Malfoy who wore his signature smirk.

"You shouldn't be using magic in such a public place."

"Please!" He scoffed. "Muggles don't see anything they can't explain." He took a large swig from his glass. "Drink up." Pepper eyed the glass suspiciously, not even daring to touch it... could he have slipped something in it? Of course he could. She wouldn't expect any less. Suspicion consumed her as she looked at the sly, unreadable expression on his face. Exasperated, he reached over and took a large gulp from her mug. "I didn't lure you here to poison you, Potter." He rolled his eyes, "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. And it would have been done in a way that was far more subtle and untraceable."

"Funny. I seem remember you trying to poison Professor Dumbledore through a bottle of mead." To her surprise, she saw Malfoy wince at her words. He didn't dignify her statement with an answer, so she tried a new tack. "So why did you invite me? To curse me? To kidnap me?" Despite her words not being even remotely amusing, he laughed.

"Believe it or not Potter, I'm on your side this time."

* * *

_"Make way for the heir of Slytherin!" The Weasley twin's shouts filled the charms corridor, instantly claiming everyone's attention. Pink faced from either embarrassment or laughter, her brother walked through the mass of staring students, flanked by Fred and George. "Very dark and dangerous wizard coming through!" Virginia choked down a laugh as she and several other first years were herded against the wall to let the large group of Gryffindors past. It didn't take long for her chuckle to turn into yet another sneeze. "Pepper-up Potter!" The twins shouted as they passed her, briefly distracted from teasing Harry. _

_They'd been saying the same phrase to her ever since she'd caught this damn cold. All the other first years had somehow managed to shake it off over night. Yet after a whole week, her cold was just as bad as it had been when she'd first got it. _

_"I wish they wouldn't badger him like that." Ginny muttered darkly under her breath, catching Virginia's arm and helping her push her way through the groups of other students towards the great hall. _

_"At least they're making a joke out of it." Virginia shrugged, narrowly avoiding ploughing head first into a fifth year. "Since the incident at the duelling club half the school is terrified of him." _

_Some people were foolish enough to actually believe the ridiculous rumours that suggested Harry Potter was the heir of Slytherin. Many suggested he and Virginia were working as a team despite hardly seeing each other outside of mealtimes. However, gossip spread like wild fire and before she realised what had happened, Virginia was almost as unpopular has her brother. The only two people who would actually speak to her were Ginny and Luna. She sneezed again, wiping her already bright red nose with her handkerchief._

_"Pepper-up Potter!" She heard the Weasley twins shout once more. _

_She was sick of her cold. Her blocked nose meant she couldn't enunciate her spells properly; she'd ended up setting fire to poor Colin's desk instead of making the feather Professor Flitwick gave her fly. The rest of the class saw this as a deliberate act of muggle born hatred, making the the growing rumours blossom. Overwhelmed with sadness, Virginia spent the rest of the class with her arms folded on the desk, her chin resting on her forearms. _

_Instead of going to the Ravenclaw table, Ginny dragged her instinctively to the Gryffindor table. Her brother smiled wanly at her as she sat down in between him and Ginny. Despite her connections to them both, she felt like an outsider on their table. A person with a blue tie lost in a sea of students with red ties._

_"Alright Gin?" Harry asked in a low voice. Tousling her hair in a failed attempt to try and get her to smile._

_"Are you sure you want to talk to me?" Virginia asked, miserably. "People will think we're colluding to petrify more people with non-magical parents." _

_"As if perfect Potter is the heir of Slytherin." A voice sneered from behind her. She turned to see a boy with white-blond hair wearing Slytherin robes and a mocking smirk standing behind them, flanked by two enormous Slytherin boys. Draco Malfoy. Her brother had warned her to avoid him at all costs. "My father found it hilarious when he heard. Just goes to show people will believe all sorts of rubbish." Harry and Ron opened their mouths to snap back, presumably with some implication that Malfoy had opened the chamber of secrets. It was highly doubtful that a second year student as able to petrify people, no matter how strong his hatred of muggle-borns was._

_"Who do you think it is?" Her question made her feel like a small fish who'd just got itself hooked on a line meant for something much larger._

_"Why would I tell you?" His cruel laugh was the equivalent of him throwing her, wounded, back into the sea. "I do wish the heir had come to Hogwarts a bit earlier though; if he'd killed your mudblood mother in school, I wouldn't have to deal with your stupid questions." Fixing her expression so it was one of amusement rather than one or irritation or anger, Virginia looked him straight in his pale eyes. He wanted to get under her skin, make her shout back in rage. Well, if that was what he wanted, he wasn't going to get it._

_"At least I'm not like you. I expect everyone in your family have been in the same gene pool so long they have webbed feet." She told him, her voice as neutral as if she was answering a question in class. To her immense satisfaction, Malfoy's expression darkened, his usually pale cheeks turned the same colour as Raspberry Bellini. To think a mere first year, his rival's little sister, made a fool out of him. Several other people around the Gryffindor table laughed at his expense._

_"Pepper-up Potter." He spat childishly, unable to come up with a decent comeback... Something in his voice made her pause. Could that have been a decent comeback? Until Malfoy had called Hermione a mudblood, Virginia had no idea that it was in the least bit offensive. An unwelcome thought popped into her head: What if 'pepper-up' was a derogatory term? What if all this time, Fred and George had been goading her?_

* * *

Forgive and forget they say. Forgiveness is hard when no one repents. Forgetting is even harder. Pepper thought she had forgotten, but as the memories returned in strange flashes she also remembered how small and pathetic she'd felt back then; never knowing whether someone was laughing at her or laughing with her.

There had been a time when she'd thought people could change. Aldrich Killian was a prime example. The first time they'd met, she'd thought he was a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. Years later, she made the mistake of letting him stride back through the doors of Stark industries, blowing her away with a pitch for a revolutionary idea... only to have her realise he was the same sadistic creep.

Time hadn't changed Killian. She sure as hell wasn't going to believe it could change Draco Malfoy as well. In her eyes, Malfoy was still the callous bully he'd always been. His father had been a death eater and, when the Dark Lord rose to power a second time, Draco had been first in line to lead the next generation of death eaters. He'd even plotted to kill Dumbledore. People like that didn't just change. _But_... The unwelcome thought popped to her mind ..._He did save Harry's life._

"Alright." She said stiffly, feeling once again like the small fish grabbing hold of a hook it couldn't hope to hold on to. "I'll hear you out." This time, he didn't throw her back.

"I work at the ministry handling dark and dangerous artefacts." That made sense. With his father's sizeable collection of dark and dangerous magical objects, Draco had probably been taught to handle them before he could walk. However, it irritated her at how quick the ministry had been to forgive him and place him in a potentially dangerous position of trust. "We recently uncovered a very dangerous artefact from the time of the dark lord."

If memory served her correctly, only Voldemort's supporters referred to him as 'the dark lord'. Before she was able to goad him, the most horrifying thought occurred to her.

"Is it another horcrux?"

"Since your dear brother and his friends destroyed all of those I highly doubt it." He said drily, making her feel instantly stupid. She hated how he had such power to play with her emotions. "Anyway, a group of aurors were charged with safely transporting the object back to the British ministry. We only found one of their bodies, the rest are missing." He explained, distastefully.

"What's this got to do with me?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably. His tale had almost instantly captured her interest. The leaned over the table, speaking her next sentence in hushed tones. "Do you want the avengers to help?" To her shock, he let out a loud, sarcastic laugh.

"Captain Ice-cream and the muggle equivalent of Sir Cadogan? I'm probably more powerful than all of them put together." He sneered smugly. Pepper's mind flitted to Maximoff and Vision, and she wondered whether that was actually true.

Could magical shields repel bullets from black widow, laser blasts from Iron Man and whatever it was that Vision shot out of the infinity stone on his head? As far as she was aware, the _protego_ charm was only effective against spells.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Potter." Malfoy's voice quietened; for a moment he sounded almost sincere. "Your brother was one of the aurors. I'm here because I need your help to get him back." Seconds ticked by as Pepper waited for to feel some kind of reaction to his disturbing words. She expected her heart to skip a beat experience the pain and discomfort of being punched in the stomach. It didn't come. She felt strangely calm as she stared back at her childhood bully.

* * *

_When a loud sneeze gave away her position on the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins accidentally sprayed half chewed chunks of food over the table in their haste to tell her to 'Pepper-up'. Had they said this before Malfoy had so eloquently used it as an insult, she probably would have laughed along. Now however, she stayed quiet, staring intently at the hunk of bread and pickle on her brother's plate._

_Wishing she could just fade into the background, she shuffled in her seat to engage her brother and his friends in conversation instead. They were whispering in hushed ones about some kind of potion. The second they realised she was listening, the talking awkwardly stopped. In their defence, they didn't know they were making her feel about two inches tall. _

_"Hows the cold?" Hermione asked for no other reason than to end the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon then. If she'd wanted to answer, she wouldn't have had the chance. Hermione always spoke so quickly. "You know, you really should go and take some pepper-up potion for that." _

_Pepper-up potion. Realisation flooded over her. All this time they hadn't been goading her, they'd been telling her to take cold medicine assuming she knew what it was. How was she supposed to know wizards could even cure a cold? It seemed obvious when she thought about it. Madam Pomfrey could heal cuts, scrapes and broken bones in a heart beat, she'd even grown back Harry's bones! Virginia was about to ask Hermione more, but she didn't need to - the girl just kept talking. _

_"I was amazed when I first found out too. To think, we have the cure for the common cold! I mean, the muggles came pretty close to finding a cure last year before Howard Stark crashed his car. However, all his research died with him and his son is more interested in girls and parties to worry about running a business and the board is focussing on the weapons side of things..."_

_"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously. "Who's Howard Stank?"_

_"It amazes me how little wizards know about muggle culture." Hermione said. "He was an American weapons manufacturer. One of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century. Revolutionised the second world war... although I don't believe all the nonsense that he actually created a super soldier-" _

_"Anyway, the point is you should go to the hospital wing to get some pepper-up potion." Harry cut in helpfully, tousling Virginia's hair. "I'd offer to come but people would probably just think we're there to finish of Justin and Colin." She nodded sadly, guessing the real reason was that he wanted to stay here, whispering with his friends. _

_"We'll go with you Virginia!" The Weasley twins exclaimed excitedly. "Only to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't kill anyone." Ginny and Percy fixed them with identical, disapproving glares while Harry and Ron laughed. _

_Since Percy thought Ginny had been looking peaky all term, he bullied her into going with them to the hospital wing and pompously decided he ought to come along as well. Surrounded by the bright red-haired Weasley siblings, Virginia stuck out like a sore thumb with her Ravenclaw robes and strawberry blond plaits. It didn't help the Fred and George sung 'Pepper-up Potter' in a tune that vaguely resembled the music from 'Jaws'. She felt uncomfortable as everyone's eyes fixed, rudely, on her._

_Ginny took it first when they got to the hospital wing. Her face turned the colour of her hair and, with the smoke coming out of her ears, she almost looked like she was on fire. Madam Pomfrey handed a glass to Virginia, who stared dubiously as the grey coloured liquid, swilling it around the cup. It reminded her of lava. _

_"This will really get rid of my cold?" She asked Fred, who'd taken a seat next to her. For once he just nodded without adding a joke. Taking a deep breath she downed the liquid, expecting to have the same reaction as her her brother when he had taken skele gro. _

_It tasted surprisingly nice. She couldn't have drunk to much of it as it was sickly sweet, with a fruity flavour in the background she couldn't place. There were little grains in it that popped like popping candy as the thick liquid slowly slid down her throat. With each tiny explosion she was able to breathe a little better, her sinuses completely clear within seconds. Then the overwhelming heat came. In the mirror, she saw herself turn as red as Ginny had, smoke erupted out of her ears as the cold virus was burnt out of her body._

_"And the Potter's Peppered." The twin's sung in deep, baritone voices, when she stopped looking so much like a train. Madam Pomfrey sent the loud group of Weasleys out of her hospital wing with a disapproving glare. With all the petrified people in there, it wasn't a surprise everyone else was talking in hushed, respectful voices. _

_ "Wow that stuff is strong!" Virginia exclaimed, coughing a few times as fresh air passed through her sinuses. Absentmindedly she scratched her wrist. "If you sold this to muggles you'd made a fortune." The twin's eyes shone with opportunity, but Percy quickly stamped out whatever entrepreneurial thoughts were blossoming in their minds. _

_"If you two even think about it, I'll tell Professor McGonagall and our mother." He warned them, eyes narrowed. They rolled their eyes, and trudged along behind, singing 'Potter's been Peppered' to Virginia's irritation._

_The group was almost back at the great hall when Virginia started to feel a little itch on her wrist hadn't gone away, instead it had spread irritatingly up her arm. The more she tried to put the scratch out of her mind, the more her wrist screamed at her to itch it._

_When no one was looking, she pulled up her sleeve and started to itch, giving into the impulse... it was a few moments before she realised it wasn't a gnat bite. A large red rash had spread up her arm, red and raw from where she'd been scratching. Gasping in shock, Virginia suddenly realised how tight her throat was. She stopped so suddenly that Fred and George plowed into the back of her, knocking her to the ground. The floor was moving... she couldn't stand up. Too dizzy to move, she pulled her knee's up to her chest, and buried her head in between her legs. She heard over a dozen feet approaching her, eager eyes staring at the hyperventilating first year._

_"Everybody stay back!" Percy shouted, somehow managing to sound pompous despite the severity of the situation. "I'm a prefect, do as I say!" _

_Virginia didn't miss the whispers and the stares from the crowd she had drawn. This couldn't have gone unnoticed could it? Everyone wanted to watch Harry Potter's sister having some kind of fit. In the muggle world, they'd all be too glued to their tv shows and video games to care._

_Unfortunately, she wasn't in the muggle world and supposedly was one of the heirs of Slytherin, despite being unable to speak in Parseltongue. Ignorant whisperers suggested this was her comeuppance for petrifying people. Others thought she was being petrified after insulting her brother. A thousand different theories were bounced off her in the two minutes she'd been sitting there. _

_"Gin!" There was only one person in the world who called her that. A strange sense of relief filled her; he was here, everything would be ok. "She's having an anaphylactic shock... what's in a Pepper-up potion?" Her brother asked no one in particular as he snatched up her rucksack from the ground and yanked out her epi-pen and injected her. _

_"Well pepper obviously, then there's also lacewing flies, strawberries..." Hermione ticked the ingredients off on her fingers, as if she was reciting them for an exam. _

_"That's it then." Her brother said, pulling Virginia into his arms as her breathing became calmer and more even. "The one thing in the world she's allergic to is strawberries." Hermione looked a little indignant that she didn't get a chance to finish listing the ingredients. Other students however, were looking at her as if she was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. _

_"Well done Harry." Percy nodded nervously. "Just to be safe I will escort you and Virginia to the hospital wing. Ron if you could help Harry carry her..."_

_Ignoring their brother's authoritative spiel, Fred and George stepped forward, putting Virginia's arms around their necks and grabbing hold of one of her legs each._

_"Ready, Fred." George exclaimed._

_"Ready, George." Fred agreed, they hoisted the first year up, carrying her as if she was on a living, breathing throne. Virginia's initial shocked gasp quickly turned into a choked laugh as they carried her through the corridors singing; "this is what happen when you pepper-up Potter!" Looking back at her brother, she couldn't miss seeing Malfoy in the doorway of the hall, a triumphant gleam in his eye that made her feel uneasy. His smile grew as hers faded away._

* * *

Dating Tony stark, Pepper had gotten more than her fair share of dirty looks, bad press and gossip. So far, no amounts of derogatory comments and conspiracies had kept her from keeping her nose clean and getting a job done well. For that, she had Hogwarts to thank. Her first year at school had been so unbearably lonely that she'd become thick skinned. But, even knowing her brother was in trouble, she couldn't go back.

Every lapse in judgement, every ounce of gossip she'd endured through school would catch hold of her, eat away at her and rip her life apart. She had a life. It was a good life. Sure, Tony didn't always get things spot on, but he was working on it for her. With a great feeling of relief, she looked Draco Malfoy in the eye and told him the truth.

"I can't help you." She'd intended to speak loudly, with certainty, but they came out as barely a whisper. In disbelief, Malfoy sniggered. "I'm serious. I haven't been a part of this world for eighteen years. I haven't spoken to my brother or anyone from my past. I haven't used my powers even when my life was in danger, you know why? I don't want to be a part of this world anymore!"

"Never pegged you for a coward, Potter." Malfoy raised his eyebrow mockingly. "I'm staying here for forty eight hours. That's how long you have to decide."

"I've already decided." She said defiantly.

"No. You haven't." He smirked, standing up and walking around to her side of their booth, offering his hand to help her up. With reluctance, she took his hand and stood facing him. With her tall heels, she was on eye level with him. "I'll see you soon, Potter." He told her, threateningly, leaning in to plant an unwanted peck on her cheek.

* * *

_Even after the Christmas holidays, Peeves the Poltergeist hadn't gotten board of chasing after her with a fist full of pepper, an idea inspired by the ingenious Draco Malfoy. Singing 'Pepper-up Potter' was even more enjoyable to him than chasing after her brother shouting 'Oh Potter you rotter'. When she arrived at most of her lessons, her hair was sprinkled with grey dust and her eyes were red and watery from sneezing._

_Labouring under the misconception that she'd been crying, Peeves' and the students revelled to see her like this, none more than Malfoy. He and his fellow Slytherins kept Peeves in a constant supply of pepper to throw, as well as chucking handfuls at her themselves._

_The more they thought their words and actions were ripping apart her strong defences, the more insults came. It was almost as if they would not rest until she was completely isolated, unable to hold her head up high because the weight of her worthlessness was pushing it down. Sometimes, when the other students in her dormitory fell asleep, she dared to shed a tear. She never gave them the satisfaction of seeing her cry though, out of fear she'd end up like moaning Myrtle; trapped weeping forever in a bathroom._

_There was hope though; Luna Lovegood was perhaps the only one of her classmates who didn't mind being pelted with pepper on the way to her lessons. Nor did she mind spending time with the sister of the alleged the heir of Slytherin. She was the only person who made Virginia feel like she was worth something._

_"You know there are worse nicknames." Luna told her, in her soft, dream like voice as she plucked pepper corns out of Pepper's hair as if it was confetti. As if to prove her right, Peeve cackled hysterically at the sight._

_"Looney Lovegood picked a peppered Potter!" He crowed. _

_"And the name Pepper kind of suits you." She carried on speaking as if Peeve's wasn't even there. Virginia nodded, trying to pretend that Peeves didn't get under her skin. "You should make it your own. It's what I would do." Her bright blue eyes were wide with sincerity, before she skipped off towards the common room, leaving Virginia with that thought. _

_Sighing, Virginia started trudging in the direction of the library. However, something in the corner of her eye made her pause and walk down a corridor she would never normally walk down. At the very end of the corridor stood a girl, around her height with unmistakable bright red hair. Her body was motionless; it was almost as if she'd been petrified in the upright position._

_"Ginny?" Virginia took a step forward. The other girl turned mechanically towards her and stared silently. Virginia gasped, coming to a holt."Ginny, what happened?" The girl's eyes were blank; they showed no knowledge that she even knew who Virginia was. "Ginny it's me, Virginia Potter."_

_"Potter." Ginny repeated, the way she spoke didn't sound like herself. Nervously, Virginia took another step towards Ginny, trying to ignore the predatory glare on her face. "Yes... she's mentioned you. She likes you, even considers you one of her closest friends despite really only having your brothers in common." _

_The words stung her as they tumbled out of Ginny's mouth. True Virginia had no interest in Quidditch and knew nothing about popular wizarding culture. When she'd first arrived at the Burrow, she and Ginny had been forced together because they were the same age and the same sex. But the Weasley girl had always been kind to her even when the whole school seemed to hate her. For that, she'd never know how grateful Virginia truly was. _

_"Who are you?" Virginia whispered, shrinking back from Ginny's figure. _

_Of one thing she was absolutely certain; this wasn't Ginny Weasley. Whether this was dual personality disorder or whether Ginny had somehow been possessed, Virginia didn't know. She did know that the smile on Ginny's face didn't belong there. It was a smile that reminded Virginia of all the witches in the fairy tales. It was a smile dripping with pure evil. _

_She felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, as if someone was watching her from behind... yet she couldn't rip her eyes away from Ginny's._

_"Just a memory." Ginny said, taking a step towards her. "A memory of a person who came to this school fifty years ago."_

_"L-like a ghost?" She hated that she was stuttering, _

_"In a manner of speaking, only I'm so much more than a ghost. Little Ginny has poured her heart and soul into me. I've been able to place a little part of myself in her head." Ginny's strange smile grew. "My name's Tom by the way. Tom Riddle." The name reminded her of something, but she couldn't think of what. _

_"Why are you telling me this, Tom?" Virginia asked slowly. _

_"Because you are insignificant." Ginny told her. _

_The next words Ginny spoke weren't words... A strange made language slipped from her lips in a soothing hiss. It wasn't a made up language though; Virginia had heard it before. When her brother had been talking to a python in a zoo, she'd heard it. When Malfoy had conjured snakes at Harry during a dual, she'd heard it. It was Parseltongue. Virginia took another step back, but she tripped over her feet in her haste and fell painfully the floor. It was clear now, who the heir of Slytherin was. Who had opened the chamber. Who was petrifying muggle-borns. It was Ginny._

_"Ginny. Stop. Please. If you're in there." She shuffled back on the floor, as Ginny walked threateningly towards her. Remembering she was a witch, Virginia fumbled for her wand, but her fingers felt stiff and awkward. It fell out of her hands and scattered across the floor. Ginny ignored it. She didn't need a wand to kill. _

_Virginia heard a loud slither of serpent scales scraping against metal and glanced around desperately. In the a window, she saw a pair of enormous, hypnotising yellow eyes. _

_Everything went black._

* * *

Nightmares had plagued her sleep for weeks after seeing the yellow eyes of Slytherin's monster. Never daring to admit the weakness to her brother or her friends, she suffered alone. Even during the summer holidays she hadn't felt completely safe. Little Virginia Potter had slept with her wand under her pillow, despite knowing she'd be expelled from Hogwarts if she ever dared to use it.

Remembering this, Pepper sat quietly in the back of the bright yellow taxi, thinking of nothing but the fear those eyes had overwhelmed her with. Taking a deep breath for courage, she leaned forward.

"Excuse me, can we take a quick detour please?" The taxi driver nodded. Unbeknownst to him, the 'quick detour' would take them almost to the opposite side of New York, to a large bank. Pepper thanked him with a generous tip for taking him so far out of his way before clambering out of the taxi and walking, with as much confidence as she could muster, into the bank. "I'd like to empty a safety deposit box please?" She asked kindly. "It's under the name Petunia Dursley..."

A safety deposit box under an assumed name wasn't a particularly groundbreaking concept. Once Pepper had answered all the security questions correctly, they took her round to the box. Perhaps the assistant had been expecting the CEO of stark industries to have jewels and stashes of cash in her box. However, there was only one item in the little wooden box.

Eight and a half inches. Willow. Containing a unicorn hair. Smiling as if she was greeting an old friend, Pepper picked up her wand. As she cradled it in her hands, she felt like she'd been reconnected with a part of herself that she'd lost. It felt strange. Good strange.

The assistant didn't bother to hide his disappointment that the box only contained a stick. Pepper thought it wise to leave as quickly as possible before he tried to ask what it was. Remembering a warning from Mad-eye Moody she's heard a lifetime ago, she slipped her want up her sleeve. If she put it in her back pocket and one of her buttocks mysteriously disappeared, she didn't know how she'd ever explain that to the avengers.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

**_When I first started writing the story, it was Harry who sent the letter. It was really tricky to write their first meeting after so long, especially as I don't think Harry's the sort of person who'd be the first to reach out. He'd respect her decision to want to stay away from the wizarding world. When I experimented writing it with Malfoy instead of Harry, I found he's a really fun character to write for. He also inspired the name of the chapter - 'snake in the grass' - which is a saying that refers to a deceitful or treacherous individual. _**

**_The first two flashback scenes are set before Christmas of Harry's second year at Hogwarts, before they'd made up the Polyjuice potion, which is what Harry, Ron and Hermione are whispering about. _****_The final flashback scene isn't really related to Pepper's experiences with Malfoy. I just really liked the scene and it's very loosely an example of the damage Draco and his father had done. _**

**_Pepper's experiences being bullied are, in my opinion, what makes her able to rise above all the nasty comments she gets in the second Iron man film when Tony makes her CEO. Being bullied is bad enough, but it's worse when people you don't even know and have never have formed negative opinions on you. It makes you a little bit distrustful of kind behaviour from people you don't know and banter from your friends which I hope I've reflected in the chapter._**

**_Thanks to all the lovely people who have given the last two chapters such good reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! I'm going to try and post an update every Sunday - I went on a short holiday to Cornwall this weekend so I didn't get a chance to. _**

**_I'd just like to say one of my favourite quote which I think is particularly relevant for this chapter: Remember everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always._**

**_Thanks for reading :) x_**


	4. Fight or Flight

_Masked, hooded men advanced, deflecting every jinx she sent their way. How she was still alive, she had no idea. Having not quite mastered non-verbal spells, they could anticipate her every move. As she backed away, she knew she was being forced into a trap, she just couldn't figure out what it was. There wasn't time to figure it out. __It was only when two red haired figures leapt out of nowhere that she allowed herself to exhale; she hadn't even realised she'd been holding her breath. Red flashes streamed from Fred and Percy's wands as they duelled with the two Death Eaters._

_"There's something I wanted to ask you, Pepper." Fred shouted while the death eaters were momentarily distracted by a suit of armour crashing into them..._

_His words were cut off by an enormous boom that sent them souring through the air. She felt strong hands grab hold of her robes, forcing her downwards, pressing her against the cold, hard floor. Screams and shouts erupted around them, all dulled by the inane buzz in her ears. Opening her eyes a crack, Virginia scanned the scene around her. All she saw was rubble partially hidden by the arm of the person on top of her which was covered in a bight red, hand knitted jumper. Fred's arm._

_With a few, awkward squirms, she broke free from her temporary shield and pulled her body into an awkward sitting position. Just when the fighting had lulled, the whole side of the castle had been blown away, scattering the six of them across the corridor. The others were stirring and groaning from pain. Blood speckled the bricks._

_"Thanks Fred." Virginia breathed. He didn't reply. He didn't move. "Very funny." She rolled her eyes. "We should move." Still no reply. Frowning, she hauled his body over only to see a ghost of his final grin imprinted on his freckled face. A wave of dread engulfed her as she grabbed his arm, feeling for a pulse. There was nothing. "No, no, no..." Over and over again, she repeated the simple two letter word as she clambered on top of him, pressing his chest up and down in a regular beat._

_The cold wind whipped her tear streaked face; she hadn't even realised she'd been crying. A strangled screaming noise that expressed neither pain or terror came from beside her. Ron, Percy, Harry and Hermione stared at her as she uselessly tried to revive Fred's limp, lifeless body. __A chill of despair spread throughout her. Tears on her cheeks seemed to harden and irritate her face with a strange clawing sensation. At some point, they stopped falling altogether and were replaced with absolute agony in her tear ducts. Someone far away was shouting her name... Then she was lifted completely off Fred. Soft hands held her away from him with surprising strength. All hope was lost..._

_"Pepper listen to me!" Harry's shout broke through her curtain of grief. "Dementors..."_

_She didn't understand. Fred was dead. Unlike in the films, there had been no last goodbye, no confessions of love. Just death. How was the war still raging around them? Why hadn't every combatant laid down their arms? Harry shouted again, making Virginia turn towards the gap in the wall. Eerie shadow like figures gracefully poured through the hole, approaching them with dangerous speed. There were a hundred. A thousand. Too many. Pathetic silver puffs of mist scrambled out of Harry's wand as he repeated the Patronus charm over and over again to no avail._

_"Think of something happy." Luna's dream like voice came from behind her. Something happy. There was nothing happy anymore. Death and cruelty had overwhelmed the place that she'd once considered her home. Fred was gone. Hagrid had been abducted while trying to save his giant half-brother and was probably dead too. "We're all still here. We're still fighting..."_

_A silver stag erupted from Harry's wand, joining Luna's hare, Ron's terrier and Hermione's otter. As the strange menagerie chased off the Dementors, Pepper took a step back. The tears that had frozen in her tear ducts were slowly defrosting and allowed the tidal wave to spill from her eyes and cover her face. The world around her blurred into nothing. _

_Strong arms wrapped themselves around her tightly like a boa constrictor. For a moment she thought it could be Fred. His death could have been a big mistake. That was until she smelt rotting cloth and blood soaked breath. Her vision cleared long enough to see Fenrir Greyback. Even in his human form, he looked like something from her darkest nightmares, especially with his teeth sharped like thirty daggers designed for ripping flesh from the bone. Letting out one final sob, Virginia prepared herself for death. Anything would be better then the hell she had found herself in._

_"Wait!" A woman's voice screamed, yanking her roughly from the Werewolf's grasp. Wild, black hair that smelt strongly of death covered her face, making her cough loudly. The woman's ripped, black robes told her she wasn't safe yet. "Don't you realise who this is? The Dark Lord will want her." The cackling face of Bellatrix Lestrange loomed over her, yellow teeth fixed in a terrifying smile. The one thing that had saved her life was the one thing that would cause it to end in suffering. "She's Harry Potter's little sister."_

* * *

Hands sped furiously across the keyboard as Pepper desperately tried to catch up on work pushing the memory out of her mind. For too long, she had been worrying about things she could not change. There would be thousands of Aurors out searching for her brother, what could she possibly do that they couldn't? She hadn't used magic in eighteen years. There was a reason she had left that world behind.

A gossip magazine landed on her keyboard with a loud thump breaking her train of thought. When she focused her mind on the screen, Pepper saw she'd typed three paragraphs of random letters that looked a little like Welsh. She hadn't even noticed Tony walking into her office.

Without even a glance at the cover or Tony's irritated expression, Pepper brushed the magazine to the side; deleted the gobbledygook she had just written and started again. She didn't have time for Tony Stark and his strops about bad press. Having spent so much time in her head over the past twenty four hours she'd gotten extremely behind on work. Malfoy's words plagued her mind and consumed her thoughts. She could barely think, let alone manage a handful of superheroes as well as running a company.

Somehow, the magazine found it's way back onto her keyboard, directly in her line of sight. Gritting her teeth, Pepper looked deliberately at the screen, loudly thinking each word as she typed it.

"I don't have time for this." She said, refusing to raise her eyes to meet his. "Our stocks are falling, I've had to rearrange meetings with three important clients this week..." Disinterested in her assessment of the company's welfare, Iron Man cut her off.

"Is that because you're sleeping with this guy." _No, it's because of an unplanned trip to upstate New York for a little slumber party_. Pepper rolled her eyes, only half listening to what Tony was saying. However, his words niggled irritably at the back of her mind. In her opinion, it took too long for her to realise the severity of his accusation. He just accused her of cheating on him! Shocked, she grabbed the magazine and stared at the cover. Along with a crude innuendo as the title, the cover photograph had her and Malfoy sitting together. It was so ridiculous; anyone who looked at the picture could see by their expressions that there was not even an ounce of chemistry between the two.

Part of her was simply relieved they hadn't caught Malfoy using magic or followed her to the bank to see her open up a security box in a false name. Relief wasn't the emotion she was supposed to have when her name was being dragged through the dirt. The thought made her laugh out loud.

"Oh so you think this is funny?" Tony snapped. "Who is this guy? He's not a client, he doesn't have a social security number nor has he legally entered the country in the last year!" Tony ticked off his statements on his fingers as he spoke. Rendered speechless, Pepper allowed them to descend into a long uncomfortable silence.

What was worse than him believing the schmuck in the papers, was that he trusted her so little that he wouldn't even come to her before running an illegal background check which, of course, Malfoy wouldn't have shown up on. Assuming he'd arrived in the country legally, it would have been through a means of transport strictly regulated by the International Confederation of Wizards. They weren't known for their communication with the passport office and other 'silly muggle travelling restrictions' (as Bill Weasley had once most delicately put it in a debate with Hermione). When he'd gotten bored waiting for her to either explain or fall at his feet crying, begging for forgiveness, Tony spoke again.

"Is this about me making another suit?" He demanded, slamming his bare hands down hard on her desk. If he'd had the suit on, there was no doubt the glass desk would have shattered. Pepper took a deep, calming breath. "Because that's a really disgusting way to get back at me!"

"My world does not revolve around Iron Man." She exclaimed. "I can't believe you think this could be real! Don't you trust me?" If she got a dollar for all the trashy affair stories the tabloids tried to accuse Tony of, she'd never have to work again. Many of them had pictures more damning than the one taken of her and Malfoy, but Pepper would never believe them. There was more chance of Tony cheating on her with Captain America than with another woman.

"Of course I trust you-"

"Then why are we even having this conversation?"

"This is about him. Who is this guy? Why are you having drinks with a strange man?" He spoke with such certainty that Pepper didn't think she could say anything to change his mind.

"Why are you doing illegal background checks on him?" She asked defiantly. For once, Tony couldn't think of a witty response. "Since you trust me so much, who I choose talk to shouldn't be a problem. Now I'm very busy so if you'd excuse me I have a meeting to go to." She was certain Tony got the hint, only he didn't move. He was too busy figuring out a new plan of attack, as if she was some terrorist Iron Man needed to stop. Under her sleeve, she felt her wand start to heat up as her anger flared. Trying to prevent red sparks erupting from her wrist, Pepper hurriedly packed a few random objects, including a stapler and a file on pensions, into her handbag. As she rose from her desk, she sent one last glare to Tony Stark. "When you've grown up, come talk to me."

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you just said when I grow up. That's funny." As she strode out of her office, Tony's fake laugh followed her out of the room. She closed the door behind her, and rested her head against the wall in despair, wondering what she had just done and what to do next.

Her first instinct was to keep working every day with her head held high until Tony Stark came to his senses. Even then, what would really change? He'd promised he'd stop risking his life. He'd promised he'd stop building suits. He'd promised he'd put their relationship and their company first. Every promise he'd made, he'd broken. Perhaps it was time to let him handle things on his own for a while; after all there was someone else who needed her more. She'd let her brother down enough in the past.

* * *

_"You have fought valiantly." Cold and unfeeling he spoke. Words pierced her brain, causing pain that even the worst migraine couldn't recreate. Blinking a few times, Virginia brought her surroundings into focus. Excruciating pain erupted from one of her legs, a copious amount of blood flooding from the injury and pouring into the hard dirt around her. Two people in ragged, torn, rotting clothes knelt beside her, lapping the blood off the floor greedily. When she screamed, they leapt back as if they were not supposed to be there._

_A tall man in a long, cloak flowing in a dream-like fashion in the wind turned towards her. His wand was pointed to his neck, making his words echo throughout Hogwarts and even into Hogsmead village. With one look, the young Werewolves melted back into the circle of death eaters surrounding them. It wasn't surprising they'd scattered, with only one glance at his face Virginia realised that he was not a man anymore._

_"Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery." His voice sent a chill through her, causing goosebumps to spread like a rash across her body. "If you continue to resist your Lord, every one of you will die. One by one. Your Lord does not desire this; every drop of magical blood spilt is a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful; Lord Voldemort will give you one hour respite. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."_

_Virginia thought of Fred and couldn't help but wonder how many others had perished. They had thought Hagrid to be dead, but he was captured in the corner of the clearing. Thick black vines tethered him to a tree, one through his mouth so he couldn't speak. Voldemort continued his spiel._

_"Now your Lord speaks to Harry Potter. If, at the end of this hour, you have not given yourself up. Your Lord will enter the battle, find you and punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you. Starting with little Pepper Potter."_

_Like something out of her worst nightmares, he looked straight at her for the first time. Waxy, pale skin was stretched over his skeletal head giving him a gaunt look like a corpse that had been left to rot for a month or so. Red eyes looked straight through her into her soul. There was a presence in her head, rummaging around in her memories. A wicked grin spread over his lip-less mouth, making him look even less human._

_"One. Hour."_

_He spoke without breaking eye contact with her. It was as if some invisible force was making her unable to look away, even though she was desperate to. Slowly, without making any sudden movements, the Dark Lord removed his wand from his neck so his voice was no longer projected. Virginia found herself wishing she was in the school, strengthening their defences and saying her last goodbye to Fred and wondering what on earth he had been going to say to her._

_"You know me, little girl." He hissed, crossing the clearing in a glide. He didn't even walk like a normal person. "You've met me before, in a different form." His red eyes flicked to Lucius Malfoy accusingly, then fell back to Virginia. Her breathing was ragged and terrified. She'd seem him possessing Ginny Weasley after Mr Malfoy had given her the diary, not realising it's importance as a Horcrux. Subsequently, she'd spent her second year looking for any mention of Tom Riddle in the history books, a handsome boy who attended Hogwarts fifty years ago and become the second greatest sorcerer in the world... perhaps the third if you included Grindelwald._

_"Leave 'er alone yeh monster!" Hagrid shouted, having worked his gag loose. With only a flick of his wand, Lord Voldemort tightened Hagrid's bonds. His eyes didn't leave Virginia; it was as if he expected something from her, only she wasn't sure what._

_"Y-you're T-Tom." Virginia stuttered nervously. "Tom R-Riddle... You killed my parents."_

_"Yes, yes, that's right." A long, spindly finger reached out, stroking her cheek. Despite her better judgement, Virginia flinched backwards. The movement made her broken leg hurt even more. "After tonight, after I've killed your pathetic excuse of a brother, I'll be the Lord of not just the Wizarding world, but the entire planet."_

_"Or perhaps my pathetic excuse of a brother will kill you." Virginia snapped back, with courage she didn't realise she had. Voldemort took a step back, a cruel haunting shape of a smile on his face._

_"I was hoping you'd say something stupid like that." He told her, breathing in deeply through the slits in his nose. He raised his wand high above his head, "_Crucio!"

_The pain was excruciating. She'd been determined not to scream, but all inhibitions left her before he'd even finished the spell. There was only one hope left in the world; her brother would come and save her. Over the next hour, she repeated that thought over and over in her head. Unfortunately, the monster pointing his wand at her was hoping for the same thing._

_Their deepest hopes came true. Just as the hour was about to end, Harry Potter stepped into the clearing. Suddenly, the crowd of Voldemort's supporters started to laugh, crying evil cat calls as her brother walked towards Lord Voldemort. Harry's eyes flicked towards Hagrid, then to the snake who was the last Horcrux. Finally they settled on Virginia; he sent a kind, reassuring smile in her direction that made her eyes fill with tears._

_"HARRY! NO! WHAT'RE YEH-" Hagrid bellowed, only to be silenced once more by the Dark Lord. Her brother took another step forward. He hadn't draw his wand. Why wasn't he drawing his wand? Finally, it dawned on her what he was planning to do. She wanted to shout, to scream, to tell him to fight, to run. She couldn't even tell him how much she loved him. Unable to hear her thoughts, her brother walked right past her, looking boldly Voldemort's red eyes._

_"Harry Potter." The Dark Lord said, a singularly mirthless smile curled on his face. "The boy who lived. Come to die." There was something poetic in his words, but Virginia didn't care of the poetry. She just cared about her brother._

_A flash of green light._

_The war had been won._

* * *

Pepper didn't know how long she'd been leaning against the wall. It was long enough for Tony to get bored in her office and open the door to leave. Her presence had disrupted whatever thought was consuming his mind, leaving him to only stare with blank befuddlement at Pepper. Eyes stinging with the threat of tears, she turned her back on him and started to walk away with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Ms. Potts!" The shout came not from Tony, but from her assistant. The young girl ran hurriedly, a look of utter terror on her face. "Ms. Potts I'm so sorry, he just slipped by me. I told him it was appointment only..." Pepper looked down the corridor in confusion to see Malfoy striding from the other direction, most likely having apparated up the stairs. How could he have so blatantly used magic in such a high profile muggle building? The assistant froze, a look of sheer confusion on her face. "How did you get up here so fast... I'll call security..."

"No wait." Pepper insisted, knowing that wouldn't do much good. "What exactly are you doing here?" She said loudly, "Did anyone see you use... you-know-what?" She added in a quiet hiss so neither Tony nor her assistant would hear. Malfoy scoffed.

"Muggles don't see anything they can't explain..." From the expressions on Tony and her assistant's faces, Pepper knew that was true. The assistant had rationalised the event by assuming Malfoy had sprinted up the stair well and Tony was consumed with fury about the alleged affair. However, she didn't have time for Tony's nonsense, so Pepper turned her attention back onto her childhood bully.. "Haven't you seen the papers?" He kept his voice low so only she'd hear, it was the first time she'd ever seen him appear breathless. Despite her worry, she couldn't help but be intrigued. "They've found him. You in or out, Potter?"

* * *

_On the dark Lord's command, Hagrid had gathered her brother tenderly in his arms. The enormous tears shedding from his eyes splattered like rain on Harry's face, leaving oddly distributed patches of clean amongst the grime and blood that covered him. One of the death eaters had bound the wound on her leg with a crude bandage so she could at least hobble from the Forbidden Forest up to the school beside Hagrid without aid. The pain of the walk didn't amount to even half the amount of pain she'd experienced with the Cruciatus curse. _

_A bloodcurdling scream met them at the courtyard of Hogwarts school. Even when she saw Ginny's pain, Virginia just felt strangely hollow. She couldn't grieve anymore. She couldn't cry anymore. _

_"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" Voldemort shouted across the courtyard. The people Virginia considered her friends and family gathered outside the school in a silent state of shock. All eyes were drawn automatically to the bundle in Hagrid arms. "From this day forth, you put your faith in your Lord. Now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die." The dark lord outstretched his arms in a gesture of welcome. Perhaps his words would have had the desired effect if he kept himself a fraction more human. _

_Only one person from the resistance stepped forward. Neville Longbottom, much to the amusement of Voldemort and his death eaters. In one hand, he the sorting hat hung limply, the other he placed deliberately on his leg. Five outstretched fingers. He looked pointedly at Virginia, before turning his attention back to Voldemort. _

_"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone. People die every day. Friends-" Virginia thought of Fred. In the crowd, she couldn't see Lupin or Tonks. She assumed they were gone as well. "-Family." With a deep breath, she dared a glance at her brother, before snapping her gaze back to Neville. Four outstretched fingers. He was counting down. "Yeah we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us in our hearts. None of us died in vein." Three fingers. No one noticed Virginia slip her wand from her sleeve. "But you will." Two fingers. Voldemort started to laugh. "IT'S NOT OVER!" One finger. Neville pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat. Harry leapt of of Hagrid's arms. Virginia pointed her wand at the Dark Lord._

Impedimenta_!" She screamed. It hit its mark, everyone else had been too focused on Harry's sudden resurrection to even notice what she was doing in the background. Hagrid grabbed her robes and threw her towards the school for her own protection while Harry sprinted out of the way. By the time Voldemort recovered enough to send blasts of the killing curse in his direction, half the Death Eaters had disappeared. Chaos reined and in that chaos, Neville cut off the head of Voldemort's snake. The last Horcrux was gone. _

_A new sense of hope strengthened the resistance. Harry was alive. It was just him and Voldemort. Harry, the boy who lived, master of the most powerful wand in the world, her big brother, won. It scared her, that she felt nothing. No joy. No sorrow. Nothing. _

_"Gin?" Harry's voice murmured. She looked around; the once crowded courtyard had emptied without her noticing. Distant music played as people revelled in the final demise of Lord Voldemort. "You alright?"_

_"That was really violent." She breathed, shaking her head incredulously. Sitting down beside her, Harry chuckled along. She put her head on her shoulder like she always did when they were younger. "I saw you die Harry. I don't understand how you're here." _

_"Well when Voldemort killed our parents, he accidentally made me the eighth Horcrux. When he sent the killing curse in my direction he killed the Horcrux. Then I was able to beat him in a dual because Draco disarmed Dumbledore, and I disarmed Draco making me the ruler of the elder wand, the most powerful wand in the world..."_

_"I didn't want you to explain it." Virginia snapped. "This is mad. This whole world is insanely impossible I can't even..." Words failed her. She let out a tear-less sob and stared directly at her brother. "I can't do this any more. I can't live this life anymore." _

_Astounded by the truth of her own words, Virginia thought back, trying to make sense of how she felt. Perhaps if Fred hadn't died, she wouldn't have dropped her guard and been captured. She wouldn't have seen her brother die. Perhaps, she'd be in there revelling. Maybe she'd finish her final year at Hogwarts; date Fred; split Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes three ways (heaven knows she'd put enough blood sweat and tears in the company over the years. Then one day they'd get married and have kids. It was just a dream of an unreachable life. _

_"What are you going to do?" Her brother asked, voice low and nervous. "I don't want you to go anywhere."_

_"Unfortunately my world doesn't revolve around Harry James Potter." She nervously said, making him laugh. "No I'll travel - the muggle way with passports and visas and live a different life." _

_"You ever need anything, little sister, I'll always be here for you." He told her, eyes wide with honestly. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it back. _

* * *

Pepper glanced back at Tony, who was glaring daggers at the pair of them. Who was he to convict her without even hearing her side of the story? What gave him the right to be her judge, jury and executioner? Harry wouldn't have done that. The last words her brother said to her rang loudly in her ear: _If you ever need anything, I'll always be here for you_. Perhaps now she was ready to return the sentiment.

"In." It was a spur of the moment decision.

Malfoy grinned at her, making her feel less like a willing accomplice and more like a doe that had just wondered onto a busy dual carriageway. Nevertheless, she couldn't back out now. She didn't want to back out. Grabbing her arm, Malfoy pulled her into the stairwell so they couldn't be seen. If Tony Stark found out about the magical world, she couldn't imagine the repercussions. He wasn't the most subtle man in the world; the secret of him being Iron Man had lasted about five minutes.

Lost in thought, she almost didn't notice Malfoy pull a half eaten packet of chewing gum out of his pocket. Without having to ask, she knew it was a Port Key. She could sense the growing waves magic it was emitting as the seconds ticked by. Without pausing to think about how it would look for the CEO of a major business to just disappear, she placed the tip of her finger on the Port Key and closed her eyes. After a single second, she was flying across the surface of the planet faster than light. She'd made her choice.

* * *

_**Authors Note:**_

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**Initially I'd been planning to put the Battle of Hogwarts flashback later on in the story, but I hope it fits in here as both these chapters mark a turning point in Pepper's life; the moments she left the Wizarding world and the moment she stepped back into it. In this story, I haven't got any plans for the Avengers to find out about Pepper's magic, but (as you can guess from this chapter), Harry will be in it very soon as well as the other characters from Harry Potter. The avengers will probably come in later on as well. **_

_**For me, Virginia and Fred are obvious OTPs in the Wizarding world. He's like the wizard version of Tony; childish and extremely clever. Also I think Fred and George would have enlisted Pepper's help when setting up Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes due to her natural flair for business. **__**I'm not 100% happy with the present day parts, but didn't really know how to make it better (this is which is probably why this chapter is a bit shorter than the others).**_

_**Thanks again to everyone following this story! I can't believe its almost got 200 followers and 100 favourites. Thanks also for the people who have left lovely reviews. I'd be very happy to accept any constructive criticism or answer any questions you have! **_

_**I have quite an interesting question - I've been trying to think of a Patronus animal for Pepper and was wondering whether any of you have an idea? If you do please let me know!**_

_***Edit***_

_**I'm really sorry - just found a couple of typos in this. I've also added in a couple of sentences so it's a bit clearer what happens in the present day parts of the story! Please shout if anyone notices any others! **_


	5. The Port Key

_When the party of eight set out under the light of the bright, glistening moon, it was not with eagerness and excitement that Virginia had anticipated when they first got the invitation to the Quidditch World Cup. Ginny and Hermione chatted about Ginny's subject options for the coming educational year while the twins brooded miserable on having their Ton-Tongue Toffees, sweets they'd spent six months developing, confiscated by Mrs Weasley._

_Having already fallen asleep at the breakfast table with a slice of toast in his mouth, Ron lagged behind, looking like he was would collapse into another slumber at any moment. Virginia had known Ron Weasley for three years; the only thing that roused him from a state of utter exhaustion was the scarily similar ways Hermione and Mrs Weasley snapped 'wake up Ronald'._

_Oddly enough, her brother trudged along beside Ron. Normally he would walk at the front of the group, pressing Mr Weasley for more information on magical transportation to the world cup, but for some unknown reason he wasn't. Stranger still, he kept wincing and moving his hand to the lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. It was hurting again. There was a time, back before they discovered the magical world, that she'd been privy to his innermost thoughts. Now however, he had Ron and Hermione to confide in and had just fobbed her off that very morning by telling her he'd had a bad dream. What sort of bad dream made his face pale and sickly and make his scar hurt?_

_On any other day she would have confronted him, however having spent half the night tossing and turning in her camp bed on Ginny's floor, Virginia welcomed the chance to stretch her stiff legs. She walked at the head of the group with Mr Weasley who, even with the weight of two tents on his back, possessed more energy than his children combined. As he power walked down the path through the woods, he explained how his work at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office often caused him to work unsociable hours, so waking up before the crack of dawn wasn't a rare occurrence._

_"Where exactly are we going?" Harry asked, just loud enough for Virginia to hear. Mr Weasley didn't seem to notice as he chattered away about his vast collection of plugs._

_"Dunno." Ron shrugged. "Hey dad. Where are we going?" He bellowed to the front of the group._

_"Haven't the foggiest." Mr Weasley told them, temporarily pausing from his lecture. It was perhaps the least informative response he could have given and filled her with apprehension. Seemingly oblivious to this, Mr Weasley plowed on ahead, using his staff as a third leg. "Keep up."_

_Apparently ignoring his instructions Virginia fell behind, happily walking in peace and quiet. Unfortunately, her bubble of relaxation was burst most violently when Fred and George hooked their arms though each of hers, making her stomach lurch in shock. Her surprise caused irritably identical wicked grins to curl onto their faces._

_"What do you two want?" She asked suspiciously, very aware that they were supposed to be sullen. _

_"You've got some Ton-Tongue Toffee's in your pockets." Fred told her, a wicked grin of his face. Frowning Virginia put her hands in her pockets, only to find a host of multicoloured sweets designed to transform the consumer's tongue into a monstrosity that weighed approximately a ton._

_"Why do you have to get me involved in your family squabbles?" They seemed surprised at the tone of voice she used. Most of the time she spoke with a smile, especially when she was talking to people she didn't like; she felt like it gave her the upper hand. With the Weasley twins, it was different. Over the past few months, she had grown accustomed to scolding just like she did with her brother._

_"Because you're so adorably innocent." George teased, ruffling her hair so vigorously it caused several strands of hair to work their way loose from the perfect French plaits Mrs Weasley had enchanted her hair into. Behind them, she heard Harry chuckle at their description of her as 'adorable'._

_"What's your market strategy with these anyway? I'm not saying these sweets aren't impressive, but I'm guessing all your savings were spent on your stock... half of which your mother just threw away. You need a proper business plan with the objectives of your business along with a detailed proposition on how you plan to achieve them over a specific time horizon..."_

_Her uncle had spent much of their childhood sitting Dudley down and giving him extremely detailed talks about business, in particular, spouting his experience as a sales director at Grunnings, a company that made drills. While Harry and Dudley had been extremely bored by the talks, Virginia actually listened carefully. Behind his rants about drill bits and faulty battery packs, there were underlying principles that probably could be extrapolated to businesses in the Wizarding world as well._

_"This is Amos Diggory everyone." Mr Weasley interrupted her spiel much to the relief of the twins. When Virginia set eyes on the portly, middle aged man, it took all her energy not to laugh since he was wearing the strangest combination of muggle clothes she had ever seen. Amos Diggory paired a cork hat and fisherman's waders along with tracksuit bottoms and a dinner jacket. "Ahh and this strapping young lad must be Cedric." Mr Weasley added as an extremely handsome young man leapt out of a tree into the centre of the clearing._

_Virginia had thought she recognised the surname, and seeing Cedric made her realise there she'd heard it before. In her second year, she'd had to put up with endless complaints from the twins about the Hufflepuff Quidditch star who attracted almost every girl in the school. What was worse was the group of giggling Ravenclaws in her common room who prattled on about how perfect he was._

_While Hermione and Ginny exchanged blushing glances, Virginia felt an overwhelming feeling of irritation just at the sight of him while Fred and George grunted some vague greeting that could have either been 'hello' or an insult._

_"These all yours, Arthur?" Amos asked, staring at the seven teenagers clustered around Mr Weasley._

_"Only the red heads." With the omission of his three oldest sons, Percy, Bill and Charlie who would be apparating to the match, Mr Weasley introduced his children then pointed out Harry, Hermione and Virginia._

_He needn't have bothered introducing the girls though. The moment Amos Diggory's eyes found her brother all attention for the rest of reality was drained from his mind and he became completely focused on the boy who lived. As all magical people did, his eyes flickered between Harry's eyes and the scar on his forehead. Not sensing Harry's discomfort, Mr Weasley engaged Hermione in conversation, while the Diggory's gravitated towards her and Harry._

_"Well Cedric's told me all about you of course, Mr Potter." Amos announced as they started walking. "Told me he bested you at Quidditch last year." Since this was still a sore spot for the twins, they grunted and fell behind._

_"Dad!" Cedric hissed, his face turning red. "I only won because Harry fell off his broom." Of course he failed to mention that the reason Harry fell over a hundred feet was that the pitch had been overwhelmed with Dementors searching for Sirius Black. Because of the horrors in her brother's past, the Dementors had a life threatening effect on him. Virginia had barely been a week old when her parents were murdered so she had no memory of that night._

_"Ahh, But you didn't, did you son?" Amos Diggory grinned proudly making Virginia grit her teeth. "One lad stays on his broom, the other falls off. Doesn't take a genius to figure out which is the better flyer-" when Fred and George looked like they were about to pound Amos Diggory over the head, Mr Weasley interjected._

_"Long walk, Amos?" Those three simple words started a waterfall of Amos Diggory jabbering on about how they had to wake up at two am, and quickly progressed to him boastfully listing his sons academic achievements (that didn't include apparition)._

_"Sorry about him." Cedric murmured to Harry. Perhaps he sensed that his father's words were making him less attractive by the second. "Dad gets a little over enthusiastic. You know how it is..." Realising nether she nor Harry knew what was to have a father praising their achievements, Cedric suddenly stopped talking._

_"We don't actually." Virginia said, her face pleasant enough but her voice oozing with false kindness. "But please, tell us more about what it's like to have parents that are proud of you-" She would have made up more snarky comments if her brother hadn't interrupted her._

_"Gin, why don't you go plan world domination with the twins." Harry suggested, his embarrassment mirroring Cedric's._

_"It's not world domination." Virginia pouted. "It's global expansion, as you'd know if you'd bothered to pay attention to uncle Vernon's lectures."_

_"Don't worry Harry." Fred shouted. "We have no idea what she's on about either. We just want our toffees back..."_

_"You'll get them back when you promise not to test them in an uncontrolled environment again." Virginia told them, determinedly. "And I'll know if you do." They pretended to laugh off her comment - what sixteen year old boys would want to admit they can be cowed by the harsh words of one small, skinny, thirteen year old girl._

_"Families, huh?" Cedric rolled his eyes with a handsome grin on his perfect, square jaw when he thought Virginia was out of ear shot. Harry plastered a false smile on his face that was not as convincing as Virginia's._

_"Yeah." He agreed in the same derogatory tone of voice Cedric had used, however there was less sincerity in his voice, "families."_

_After another half hour hike, they finally reached what they were looking for; an abandoned boot at the peak of Stoatshead hill. Virginia watched her peers, and mimicked their behaviour by lying on the dewdrop grass, water soaking through her blouse. Unaccustomed with social learning theory, Harry took a step back while everyone else placed their fingers on the boot._

_"Why are you all huddled around a manky old boot?" He asked, voice full of disgust. Sure, it was gross, but when she got over the foul smell, Virginia started to noticed something else about the footwear. She could sense strong waves of magic radiating from the shoe, tethering her finger to the rotting leather._

_"It's not just any manky old boot!" The twins exclaimed. "It's a port key." Slowly, suspiciously, Harry lay down and slowly reached for the boot, touching it at the very last second._

_When the clock struck ten a second later, the boot burst with energy. Without warning, they were suddenly flying through the sky faster than the speed of light. The three fingers touching the laces seemed stuck to the fabric, like a magnet sticks to a refrigerator... until they stopped sticking. As quickly as they'd set off, she felt herself falling rapidly, screaming, through mid air until she collapsed, unhurt, on her backside on the cold, hard ground._

* * *

Twenty two years later, she felt a similar feeling of nausea, only magnified three thousand, three hundred and eighty four times as she landed alone in the middle of a different field, rain pricking her face painfully. This landing wasn't as hard as the one she'd experienced when she was thirteen, perhaps that was because it had recently poured with rain, leaving the ground soggy and mud gloopy. Face contorted into a expression of disgust, she inspected her five hundred dollar business outfit that was now spattered with what she hoped was mud, but suspected was slurry.

As she rolled onto her hands and knees to throw up, a freezing cold sea breeze clawed her bare arms and flung chunks of her long hair around her numb cheeks, stabbing her eyes. She reflected that she should have at least put on a coat and a sensible pair of shoes before putting herself at Malfoy's mercy. Rubbing her arms for warmth, she thought longingly of the date where Tony had let her borrow the Iron Man suit just to keep her warm...

In an attempt to quell the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her when she thought of the way she left it with Tony Stark, she looked around for Malfoy, trying to spot him through the dense fog. Despite not being able to see his silhouette, she could hear him cackle at her expense as he gracefully drifted down from the sky above.

"Nice landing Potter." He smirked, as he landed perfectly on the balls of his feet. Instinct told her to ignore his outstretched hand, so she scrambled to her feet without his aid, dabbing her lips with a tissue to try to free herself of the vile taste of bile. Her tall, thin heels sunk down into the soft ground when she placed her weight on them. She had to lift her legs comically high as they walked, leaving a little trail of holes to mark where she'd been.

"Where exactly are we going?" She echoed the words her brother had asked back when he was fourteen, irritably removing her designer heels in an attempt to keep up with Malfoy as he strode along the cliff path. It wasn't long before her toes were an alarming shade of blue and her soft heels were sore and scratched.

He never replied. This was just typical of him, she thought bitterly. He revelled in holding the details of their journey close to her chest; the more confused, uncomfortable and agitated she became the more his cruel sneer grew. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise if this whole fiasco turned out to be a wild goose chase.

"If you weren't planning to use this time productively (by giving me more information), why don't we just apparate? Or find a port key that goes where we actually want to go?" Pepper asked suspiciously. For some reason, her question made him laugh out loud.

"If you tried apparate you'd splinch yourself so badly I'd still be putting you back together an hour later." He scoffed, she hated to admit it but he was probably right. Frightened that the American ministry would confront her in her office and expose her identity, she still hadn't tried even the simplest spells since she retrieved her wand out of the safety deposit box. "As for the port key, the unlicensed ones don't tend to be connected to places you actually want to get to."

"What do you mean 'unlicensed' port key?" Pepper hissed angrily. "Are you saying we just travelled three thousand, three hundred and eighty four miles around the world illegally?"

"That is what the word 'unlicensed' would imply." Tactfully Malfoy dodged answering her question with any sincerity. Even now, he was a stereotypical Slytherin; Salazar would be so proud. Back in school, he would happily start fights with cunning words designed to cut them but nearly never got prosecuted for them. If anything escalated too far, he'd say the two magic words, 'my father' and somehow he'd almost always avoid conflict.

"Eat slugs." Pepper spoke with the most charming smile on her face; if he hadn't been listening to her words, he may have thought she was paying him a compliment. Fortunately for him, he was listening; her words made him scoff so loudly that Pepper decided to change tack. "If you're a big ministry official, why are we travelling illegally?"

"Now that's a smart question." Malfoy nodded approvingly.

To show her impatience, Pepper huffed loudly. Patience had never been never her brother's forte. With all the years she'd spent living in the muggle world where she refused to admit she could complete the simplest tasks with the snap of your fingers, her restraint had increased. However, when she was frustrated and losing control, her tolerance quickly dissipated. Sensing this, Malfoy waited a good few minutes to speak again to ensure her usual sensible, intelligent inhibitions were reduced.

"You see Potter, unlike yours, my surname isn't revered across the magical world. Quite the opposite in fact. Everything I do is scrutinised. It took me years gain the position of respect I have now." He finally told her.

"My heart bleeds." Pepper stated sarcastically, thoroughly annoyed he wouldn't just give her a straight answer. Malfoy glared at her - a signal she ought to shut up. As little as she wanted to obey his petty commands, she did as he indicated out of curiosity more than anything else.

"The artefact the Aurors were collecting was one that I discovered, analysed and requested safe and secure transportation. Thanks to due diligence, I knew every detail of the Aurors journey. Thus, when they all stupidly got themselves lost, I was the obvious choice for the scapegoat. The Minister of Magic has been sniffing around my office for the past few years; trying to frame me for illegally selling dangerous artefacts to the highest bidder on the black market. Now she thinks she's hit the jackpot."

"Well, are you selling dangerous magical artefacts on the black-market?"

"Not from the office." Malfoy smirked; Pepper hated that she couldn't read his expression. If she was a skilled Legilimens perhaps she could have figured out whether he was telling a perverted joke or being completely honest.

"You're intolerable." Pepper announced, her blue eyes glistening with fury. "What do you need me for then?"

"As much as it sickens me to say it, your brother is the one person that can - and will - exonerate me and quell the inquiry. Initially, I needed you to help find him. When we met I took a sample of your DNA and added it to a particularly potent searching potion and sent it to the ministry. They found him within twenty four hours as I anticipated." Remembering the look of shock and urgency on Malfoy's face when he'd come charging into her office, Virginia realised what a good actor he was. Slytherin's didn't charge into any situation rashly, if they rushed anywhere, it was part of a perfectly scripted plan. One that she had fallen for, hook line and sinker. Looking at the outraged expression on her face, Malfoy had the gumption to laugh at her. "Would you prefer me to forcefully extract a blood sample from his little children? Thought not. Nevertheless, they've found him so your 'ethical issues' are moot."

"So you have the potion, and you've sent it to the ministry. They've found Harry... why come to the office? Why bring me here?"

"To make sure I don't get sent to Azkaban the instant the Aurors lay their eyes on me." Malfoy told her, honestly. It was perhaps the most honest thing he'd ever said to her. "To me, Ms Potter, you are extra time to tell my version of events."

"This is starting to feel like a hostage situation." Pepper muttered darkly under her breath.

"Please!" Malfoy scoffed, "did you ever think you'd actually be of some use-"

Whatever snide comment he was about to say was abandoned on the tip of his tongue as a dozen red jets of light flew through the air coupled with shouts of '_Stupefy_' and '_I__mpedimenta_'. Screaming, Pepper ducked down, uselessly covering her head in her arms, wondering why she'd consented to be dragged back into this world. She was instantly reminded one more of the Quidditch world cup, hiding from bright, darts of light, tearing through the sky with the intent to hurt her.

* * *

_After hours of celebrating a spectacular Ireland win at the Quidditch World Cup, Virginia could no longer distinguish between the stars and the magically enhanced fireworks scattered in the sky. Common sense told her the constellations shaped like shamrocks were magically made, but they looked so real. She'd been gazing up at the sky for so long now, she almost couldn't imagine the night sky without bright green stars in the shape of a dozen leprechauns doing the Irish jig._

_Long after the others had gone to bed, Virginia stared up at the sky in awe, more captivated than she had been during the Quidditch match... that was until a sonic boom caused the fireworks to fade from the sky, and the laughter and merriment dissipate._

_In a split second, thousands of wizards were silenced, every one of them holding their breath until the threat revealed itself._

_Slowly and carefully, so she didn't draw too much attention to herself, she gently reached into the chest pocket of her dungarees and removed her wand, hand shaking nervously. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school, except for when their life was in danger. The distant screams suggested her life was most certainly in danger._

_As the torturous yells approached her, the number of screams increased as more people identified and ran from the threat. It was obvious they were not screams of joy, but of sheer terror. Cursing her Ravenclaw curiosity overwhelming her nerves, Pepper took a step forward, squinting to see what the shadowy figures in the distance were doing._

_"Pepper?" Mr Weasleys voice snapped as the figures approached. "What are you doing out here?" His voice trailed away as he looked across the campsite to the men. "Muggle-baiting..." he breathed, eyes wide with horror, before ducking back into the tent to rouse the others._

_"Muggle baiting?" Having had a lecture about the joys of bear-baiting from Aunt Marge one drunken weekend, Virginia assumed muggle-baiting would be similar. Causing significant distress to a bear and laughing and betting on the reaction seemed cruel enough, but it would be unspeakable to do it to another human. Yet, that was exactly what the figures were doing. __A family of four muggles were being levitated above the crowd, screaming along with the terrified onlookers. The poor woman was fighting to pull her dress down, much to the amusement of some of the sicker members of the wizarding community. Desperate to help, Pepper took another nervous step forward, when Mr Weasley caught her._

_"Pepper your mother was muggle-born." He told her, voice low and urgent. Mouth open in shock, she looked from the panic-stricken muggles to Mr Weasley's frantic eyes and realised what he meant. Merely having a mother those pure blood maniacs deemed to have 'dirty blood' was enough to sentence her to the same cruelty the muggles were experiencing. It was sick._

_Moments ticked passed with her standing, frozen, trying to drink in the severity of the situation. It was only when her brother grabbed her wrist and Mr Weasley ordered them to join the others that she was snapped out of her stupor and desperately charged after Ron and Hermione's fading silhouettes. However, by the time they'd reached the forest skirting the campsite, all signs of Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley's had melted into the trees._

_"We won't find them." Pepper said with the utmost certainty. "I'm sorry Harry." By the expression on his face and the way he scanned the trees around them, it was clear he'd rather be with Ron and Hermione._

_People they didn't recognise sprinted blindly all around them. Panicked shouts and confused footfalls approached them and faded. None of them were people Pepper knew, so she stopped looking at their faces and searched, instead, for a place to hide. In the end, they found an empty ditch they could hide in, much to Harry's distaste (as a Gryffindor he hated hiding)._

_"Who do you think they were?" Harry muttered. His voice seemed to travel eerily far through the trees._

_"Believe it or not, I've had just as little exposure to the insights of the wizarding world as you have. Less in fact. So I know just as much about those racist lunatics as you do." She wasn't angry at her brother and his childish questions, she was angry at the foul people who were out there torturing innocent muggles. "I'm sorry Harry... I just... I wish it wasn't so dark!" She whispered pathetically, cuddling up to her big brother like she used to do when she was little._

_"It doesn't have to be Gin." He whispered kindly, taking her wand and flouting the degree for reasonable restriction of underage sorcery by whispering; "Lumos." When end lit up comfortingly, he passed it to Virginia before reaching inside the pocket of his jeans for his own wand... "Ah, no, I can't believe it... I've lost my wand!" He exclaimed so loudly, Virginia jumped in shock while Harry glanced around the trees to see if he could spot it. Unfortunately, his wand was nowhere to be seen._

_A metaphor strangely fitting for their situation would be looking for a needle in a haystack, only this was much harder. They were looking for a polished stick in a darkened forest they'd just been sprinting blindly through. They couldn't even be a hundred percent sure what path they'd taken, let alone where Harry's wand had slipped onto the floor. Not for the first time, Virginia reflection on how she thought wands should have wrist straps._

_Her brother strained his ears, as if he was trying to hear his wand calling him. Of course it was a fruitless exercise. Wand's could not call their wizards, and even if they could, the silence that greeted their ears suggested Harry's wand chosen to remain hidden._

_"We've got to go find it!" Harry insisted, pulling Virginia to her feet with some difficulty. She stared at him incredulously._

_"Are you insane?!" She snapped, knowing he wasn't truly mad. He was head strong and rash, traits that made him an excellent Gryffindor. "What if they're still there?" True she couldn't hear the screams anymore, but that could have something to do with the magical wards surrounding the site. Unable to see reason, Harry blundered back through the forest the way they'd come, scanning the dark ground in blind desperation for his wand. Not wanting to be alone, Virginia followed, whispering: "this is a bad idea, a very, very bad idea..." all the way back to the campsite_

_Abandoned tents, shattered bottles and a thin mist covering the campsite made it look less like the happy, excited scene she'd seen when they'd arrived just twelve hours before and more like something out of the darkest horror movie. Lingering on the outskirts of the site, Virginia and Harry exchanged panicked glances. It seemed like forever since they'd been so in tune with one another's emotions; the last time they'd been able to communicate wordlessly was when they were running from Aunt Marge's vicious dogs._

_"Do you think they're hiding?" Harry whispered._

_"From my first impression of them, they seemed to be overly fond of ostentatious theatrics." Virginia snapped, lips pursed in a way that made her look remarkably like Aunt Petunia. Despite her tone, Harry seemed to take her words seriously. Perhaps he agreed the dark, cloaked figures didn't seem the sort to hide in the shadows, waiting for their pray. However, that didn't mean there wasn't anyone else lurking about._

_Despite the obvious dangers, his Gryffindor rashness compelled Harry to step slowly out into the maze of tents. Virginia didn't quite know what she'd been expecting. Perhaps lightening to strike him down, or ninjas leaping out of the trees clawing at him with long knives. She certainly hadn't expected nothing to happen. But nothing did happen. He turned to her with a small shrug before walking into the mist. Unwilling to loose sight of him, Virginia hurried to catch up, grabbing his hand in hers and holding on for dear life._

_They'd just reached the Weasley's tents when something out of the corner of her eye made her freeze. Her brother half wondered whether someone had cast the body-binding curse on her, but the way her hand tightened on his wrist showed him she was still of her own accord._

_"Did you see that man?" She whispered. Harry looked around urgently, but the man had already ducked behind the tents. They hadn't been expecting him to stand straight, wand pointing at the sky and cry;_

"Morsmordre_!" A green flash was emitted from the wand. A green flash that made her brother scream in pain, clutching the lightening-bold scar on his forehead. The man turned to them, a wicked grin on his face. His tongue flitted in an out of his mouth like a serpent Virginia squinted, eager to get a closer look simultaneously trying to take care of her brother._

_Without warning group of men dressed in formal, ministry robes apparated in a circle around the two Potters. Their sudden appearance made Virginia lose eye contact with the man, sloping off into the distance as red jets of light flew towards them, with the intention of stunning them. Harry pulled Virginia onto the ground, uselessly covering her head with his hands. Somehow, none of their curses struck before Mr Weasley charged across the field._

_"STOP!" He bellowed, sounding more authoritative than Virginia had ever heard him. "Stop! That's Harry Potter! Do you really thing the boy who lived conjured the dark mark! Use your heads!" Mr Weasley pushed his way through the circle. Several of the Aurors had dropped their wands and now were staring point blank at Harry's scar. "Harry - Pepper - are you alright?"_

_"We're fine." Harry told him, eyes turning to the sky. "But that... what is that?"_

_"It's the dark mark." Hermione told him, voice quiet and urgent as she stepped from behind Mr Weasley, Ron white faced by her side. "Harry, it's you-know-who's sign."_

_"Which one of you conjured it?" One of the ministry officials stepped forward, wearing a pin striped three piece suit, pointing his wand between Harry and Virginia. "You have been found at the scene of the crime!"_

_"I've found the wand used, Mr Crouch!" The pompous voice of Percy Weasley rang out, as he hurried forward, clutching a wand between his fingers._

_"Hey, that's my wand!" Harry exclaimed. "I lost it..." Virginia felt her blood run cold as everyone stared at them. She knew what they were all thinking; the boy who lived conjuring the Dark Lords signature, taking credit for the terrible events of that night like a muggle terrorist group was._

_For the first time, she looked up to the sky. The eerie, green stream of smoke that had erupted from Harry's wand when the man had conjured it was illuminated against the coal coloured sky. It twisted itself into the shape of a skull with an enormous snake protruding from its mouth. Even before she realised it was Voldemort's Mark, it filled her with fright. Reaching out, she took her brother's hand, clutching it as if her life depended on it. He squeezed her hand back, apparently, he felt the same way._

* * *

Somehow, the curses failed to hit their mark in the present day as well as back then. Pepper reflected that it was strange that fully trained Auror's struggled to hit such and easy, still target as her and Malfoy. It was only when one about to hit her face bounced off an invisible barrier, that Pepper realised Malfoy must have cast a shield around them. If the army of curses hadn't been battering down his defences, she was certain he would have laughed at the fact she was crouched down on the floor, hands covering her head.

"We have you surrounded Malfoy. Put down your wand." A strangely familiar voice ordered. The volume of spells had dissipated, so it was safe for her to slowly clamber to her feet, hands shaking. There was no mistaking the lanky man with bright red hair, freckles and a long nose, it was Ron Weasley. "You can kiss you comfy job and fancy mansion goodbye. We've caught you trying to flee the country with an illegal port key!" Ron announced, triumphantly.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Weasel, but I already fled the country right under your very large nose." Malfoy sneered. Since Ron had apparated before them, Malfoy's voice had become, if possible, even smarmier and smug. Old habits really did die heard, she realised. There was very little chance these two would ever get over their childish rivalries and learn to act like adults around one another. "You just caught me returning... as I planned you would just to get an easy ride to the Ministry of Magic."

Hot headed as ever, Ron ground his teeth together loudly as he glared at Malfoy, clearly struggling to control his rising anger.

"Right so the use of two illegal Port Keys plus bringing a muggle back with you. The list of charges just gets longer." He tutted, with a surprising level of calmness despite his hot headed appearance. His warnings breezed over Malfoy like wind over a rock.

"She's not a muggle, Auror Weasel." Malfoy explained smugly, his blatant disrespect causing Ron's face to redden in front of the other Aurors. "Do you really expect me to consort with muggles and mudbloods just like your dear wife and in-laws..." If this were a cartoon, smoke would have started coming out of Ron's ears as he started to walk furiously towards Malfoy, prepared for a fight. Pepper leapt to her feet and placed herself tactically between the two men.

"Why don't we all just calm down and put your wands down, before someone ends up vomiting up slugs?" Pepper suggested. Ron looked at her in surprise, his eyes showed a glint of recognition but he wasn't a hundred percent sure who she was. "It's Pepper... Virginia Potter." Ron's wand clattered to the ground in shock.

"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, swallowing loudly and hurrying to pick up his wand. His face had turned white as a sheet. "Sorry Pepper, but I'm going to have to confirm it's you - what form does you Patronus take?"

"A pig." Pepper admitted, a slight blush on her face. That fact had always been an embarrassment to her, especially as she and Harry had always teased Dudley for being so much like a pig. Despite this, she was independent, resilient and intelligent, all traits that belonged to pigs. "I used to call it Crackling." She admitted sheepishly.

"Bloody hell." He repeated, eyes wide in shock. Luckily, the Aurors surrounding him were not rendered as speechless.

"Blimey! Lose one Potter, and other one turns up, eh." An man with a strong Irish accent joked. Pepper vaguely recognised him as Seamus Finnigan - who was in Harry and Ron's dormitory. "The minister will want to see her."

"Erm right." Ron nodded, colour was returning slowly into his face, but he still looked like he was about to throw up. "Malfoy don't you dare think about running!"

"Wouldn't dream of it Weasley. If I wanted to escape, you wouldn't have caught me." Malfoy smiled smugly as Seamus took his wand and tied his hands together with a flick of his wand and a whispered spell. Pepper wondered briefly where the still held a reputation for blowing things up, before Ron took her arm. Rendered furious by Malfoys teasing, Pepper could feel a slight tremor in the red head's hand.

"Ready Pepper?" He asked through gritted teeth. Pepper remembered a very different time, when her head master, Professor Albus Dumbledore had taken her arm for an along-side apparation. Unfortunately, she knew Ron probably would never be as powerful as Dumbledore, so she felt herself quaking as she realised he was about to do the same thing.

"Ready for what?" She asked, feeling panic rising. "Ron don't you dare apparate, I'll lose my leg or something-" She was still talking when she landed in the marble entrance hall of the ministry of magic. Startled, she almost forgot to count her limbs (Luckily, they were all still present and correct).

* * *

_**Authors Note:**_

_**Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for the long wait between chapters - I've had a really busy couple of weeks and didn't have much time to write! I want to try and update every Sunday though. The flashbacks in this chapter are from the Goblet of Fire, right before / after the world cup. I was picturing Malfoy and Pepper landing at a beach by my parents house called 'Cogden' in Dorset (which is 3384 miles from New York) **_

_**For everyone wondering whether the Avengers will find out about Pepper's magic, unfortunately I hadn't planned them to find out because I can't think of a way they'd find out and for Civil War to progress as it did (if that makes sense). But they will be in the story later on (I'm planning some funny scenes with Ron reacting to Hermione flirting with Captain America). Also, there won't really be many Pepperony moments in the story and (sadly) no pregnancy plans yet! **_

_** Thanks **_**Aryen-Dono**_** for the ideas for the Patronus for Pepper. I liked the idea for a resilient animal so I googled it, as well as curious and intelligent animals and for each trait I came up with either a pig, a dolphin or an elephant. I thought Pepper was more independent and, since elephants and Dolphins are both herd animals, I went for a pig.**_

_**Thanks to everyone who left reviews on the last chapter and for the people favouriting / following the story. I'm so happy you're all enjoying the story so far! Let me know if you have any questions about the story or spot any mistakes! :) x**_


	6. Reformations

Two feet. Two legs. One torso. Two arms. Two hands. Neck. Head. Eyes. Ears. Mouth. Nose.

Pepper counted her body parts discretely as she, Ron and the other Aurors with Malfoy tied up in invisible tethers, made their way through the entrance hall to the ministry of magic. Twice before she had been here; once for her brother's criminal trail, and again later that academic year when the Dark Lord lead Harry on a wild goose chase to save Sirius. A large part of her was expecting it to be as cold and daunting as it always had been in her nightmares.

Not a single inch of her had expected the same dark green marble walls to seem so much lighter and brighter. Modern, magical windows had been placed throughout the entrance hall, each one looking out into a cityscape in London, as if they were on the top of the Gherkin. Newspaper clippings, from both wizarding and muggle newspapers flew over head and organised themselves neatly on a wall underneath a number of headings. Pepper craned her eyes to see one about the upcoming Olympics in Brazil.

In place of the tasteless golden water fountain that had once been the pride of the ministry, stood a golden statue of her big brother, brandishing the Elder Wand in one hand, the sword of Gryffindor in another slicing off the head of a serpent.

"I bet Harry hates that." She grinned at Ron. He nodded silently in a way that suggested to Pepper that he was slightly jealous there was not a golden statue of Ron by the side of Harry.

All around her, people scuttled around like worker ants on their hill, all voices merged into an undifferentiated roar that was as good as silence. To her relief, hardly anyone had time to spare her a glance. The fewer people who could make the connection between Virginia Potter, sister to the boy-who-lived and Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, the better. However, for every ten people who walked by without seeing her, one person would recognise her. Whispers flared up and, on more than one occasion, she heard her name spoken in a hushed, gossiping tone.

Chatter died away as the Minister for Magic approached. She could hear the fast footsteps created by hurried flat shoes ringing off the hard floor and mumbles of "_morning Minister._" She could see the crowd parting and the bushy brown hair of Great Britain's first ever female, muggle-born Minister for Magic.

"Hermione?!" Pepper smiled, forgetting the stares of everyone else as a dazzling grin of happiness erupted into her face. She walked forward, ignoring the muddy footprints left on the floor.

"You." The voice of her old friend seemed strangely frosty, her face unsmiling. Pepper froze, smile quickly falling from her face. Was it her ministerial job that had made her look so unwelcoming, or was it just Pepper's sudden reappearance? "I'll have to confirm your identity of course. We won't bother with Patronus checks, anyone who reads 'the rise and fall of Voldemort' knows your Patronus is a pig." Pepper dared a glance at a particularly sheepish looking Ron. "Please can you tell me your old telephone number?"

Perplexed, Pepper slowly recited the phone number to the Dursley household. It was a miracle that she remembered it after all these years, let alone the fact that the eleven numbers seemed to make Hermione believe Pepper was who she claimed to be.

"How is it you know everything?" Ron asked incredulously. "Minister." He added after a short pause, remembering his manners. Pepper suppressed a smile, after knowing each other for twenty five years, Hermione's eidetic memory still stunned her husband. Although, even for someone as smart as Hermione, it seemed extremely unlikely that she would have memorised a phone number she'd never actually rung.

"Harry gave it to both of us at the end of his second year, Ronald." Hermione explained irritably. "Anyway, Auror Finnegan, please escort Mr Malfoy to interrogation room C please. Auror Weasley and I will take Ms. Potter to interrogation room A."

The Minister for Magic turned on her heal and started marching in the opposite direction without checking to ensure the Aurors had even heard her commands. Pepper hobbled after Hermione, still leaving muddy footprint where the walked, which were quickly mopped up by a house elf dressed in dungarees and a woolly hat that looked shockingly similar to the ones Hermione used to knit when she started S.P.E.W. (Society for the Prevention of Elvish Welfare).

"Sorry about that." Ron whispered sadly as they followed the faint clatter of Hermione's footsteps. "Harry was pretty cut up when you left. Well... we all were." He shrugged.

"It's fine." Pepper said, not wanting to reveal she'd felt like she'd just been hit in the stomach with a rogue bludger. "I've missed so much, I was hardly expecting to be welcomed back with open arms."

* * *

_Never before had she seen someone manoeuvre themselves through the London underground system at rush hour with such over enthusiasm. Despite the reason for the trip was to determine whether or not her brother would remain at school, she and Harry constantly exchanged amused glances leading to giggles as they walked through the crowd of people, trying not to lose sight of Mr Weasley._

_"Ingenious these muggles." Mr Weasley announced very loudly as he stared at a broken escalator while Virginia stared at the map of the tube. _

_"Mr Weasley, it's not working." Harry told him. "It's supposed to be moving..." Indeed, many of the muggles walking down the steps looked slightly confused with faces deep in concentration, as if their brains knew something was wrong. _

_"Yes, but even so..." _

_"Right!" Virginia exclaimed, trying to take attention off the baffled wizard who'd now cornered a poor businessman to ask him how his 'mobily fellytone' worked. "We're at Charing Cross so..."_

_"It's just this train right?" Harry asked, pointing to the compact train that had just arrived at the underground station. "Three stops to Greenwich." _

_"What?" Virginia stared at him incredulously. "Harry, this is the southbound Bakerloo line so we'll need to change at Waterloo and get the eastbound Jubilee line to North Greenwich, followed by..." She pulled out the bus timetable and studied it closely. "The 188 bus for fifteen minutes and get off at the maritime museum." She spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Harry stared at her, utterly gobsmacked. "And Mr Weasley's about to get arrested..." She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him over to the police officer. "Sorry sir... Our uncle is very confused, he's on anti-depression medication that are really messing with his head... Dangerous? No not at all, just overly friendly..." Once she had talked them out of the awkward situation, she pulled them both roughly onto the correct train. _

_"I say, what are you writing in those little white boxes?" Mr Weasley asked a fellow commuter who was trying to complete his crossword puzzle in peace. _

_"Mr Weasley, Londoners aren't really accustom to chatting with strangers on their morning commute..." Pepper explained as the man shuffled away awkwardly, eyeing Mr Weasley with the utmost suspicion. She didn't know how she'd suddenly adopted the position of adult-wizard-babysitter. It had been the same when eight Aurors arrived at the Dursley's house to take them to number twelve, Grimmauld Place._

_While Harry and Tonks had been having an enjoyable conversation about getting their buttocks blown off as a result of keeping their wands in their back pockets, Virginia had been explaining to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Stergis Podmore that the microwave wasn't meant to send out sparks. Furthermore, one mustn't test its functionality with a sealed tin of baked beans. All the while Hestia Jones was causing just as much havoc. She had been rifling through the draws, destroying the order Aunt Petunia had carefully designed for the utensils and had become bewitched by a potato peeler. With great interest, the witch turned it over in her hands, entranced by the fact it peeled pretty much every type of root vegetable and some fruits... (no... not bananas)._

_Virginia brooded on this the whole journey to the secret entry to the Ministry of Magic which turned out to be a very underwhelming red telephone box, that looked as if it had been damaged by youths. Like she had with the port key however, she sensed the magic flowing in waves from the phone box, a different sort of magic to the port key. Turned out, the phone box was a magical lift that transported them down into the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic._

_"Oh my god." Pepper breathed as she stepped loudly out of the phone box and onto the cold, hard, marble floor. If it was deserted, she was certain the sound of the heeled shoes would have echoed around the whole hall. However, people milled around, busily chattering. Every two or three seconds, a witch or wizard would clamber out of one of the many fire places in a puff of green flames, and hurry to their designated destinations. _

_Mr Weasley placed his hands on their backs, lightly guiding them though the writhing mass of bodies. Wide eyed as she struggled to take everything in, Virginia realised she must looked how Mr Weasley looked on the underground, so she struggled to compose her expression. Harry, however, looked even more like a magical tourist than she did. His eyes lit up in wonder at the glinting gold water fountains shaped like a wizard, a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and finally a house elf. _

_"Mr Weasley, why does the juxtaposition of the statues imply the wizard is the most important?" Virginia asked, pursing her lips so she was the splitting image of Aunt Petunia when she was displeased. Mr Weasley looked at her blankly, forcing her to reword her sentence. "Why is the wizard so much bigger than the others?" Indeed the Wizard was almost as large as Hagrid, while the others seemed vaguely proportional._

_"Well, the designers believed the wizards are the rightful rulers of the others..." He explained. "I'm not saying I agree with that philosophy." He added quickly, seeing the outraged expression on her face._

_"No, I'm sure when asked, hardly any self respecting wizard would openly admit to agreeing to the blatant sexism... and frankly racism to which this statue promotes. But I doubt anyone has attempted to petition to modify the scales. For instance, would be nice to have a giant house elf to commemorate all the bloodshed poor elves like Dobby experience on a day to day basis for witches and wizards across the globe!" _

_"Gin, lower your voice." Harry hissed, pulling her away from the statue. "People are staring." Indeed they were staring, but not at her. Many people were reading sections of the daily profit and staring at Harry, whispering to one another urgently._

_The Minister for Magic, Fudge, had developed the most peculiar notion that their headmaster, Dumbledore, was after his job. Terrified by the mere idea of his career being stripped from him, he'd encouraged the Daily Prophet to spread vile rumours that Dumbledore and Harry's claims that you-know-who had returned were not only false, but the sign of either madness or attention seeking. Unfortunately, many people wrongly believed him; little did they know it would lead to their deaths. _

* * *

After the war, Ron explained, the Wizengamot experienced the largest political coup ever seen in Wizarding Britain. Many families, including the Malfoys and the Notts we're stripped of all power and their seats left empty on the Wizengamot were left empty.

Harry Potter, who at the time was training to become an Auror (the first person to do so without a single NEWT), spoke against the pure blood leadership and the vile influence an unelected leader had over the Wizarding community. Many supported his ideas and, with the help of a few muggle-borns, a new parliament, elected by the Wizarding populations (from squibs and muggle-borns to pure bloods) was instated into the Wizengamot.

"My party won by a landslide." Hermione told Pepper, as she unlocked the door of the interrogation room. "After I completed my final year at Hogwarts, I became a local MP. I think it was just my association with Harry that got me elected." Ron scoffed when he heard this, as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Well, it helped. Anyway I worked hard and put myself forward for Minister three years ago. I thought after the war, nothing could be so scary, the election campaign was pretty terrifying though... _Scourgify!_" The charm completely banished the mud from Pepper's designer outfit, something she was extremely grateful for.

"Congratulations... and thanks" Pepper smiled an reciprocated smile as she stepped into an interrogation room that was unlike any muggle interrogation room she'd ever seen.

Instead of being dark and dingy with a two way mirror on the wall, it was surprisingly light and unintimidating, with clean green marble walls lined with twinkling fairy lights. The lack of enchanted windows made it look darker than the rest of the ministry, yet the most scary thing in the room was the chair. It was vaguely recognisable as one that bound you in unbreakable bonds when it was sat on.

Fortunately, Hermione did not feel the need to shackle Pepper, despite looking like she may want to. The Minister sat opposite Pepper, a manilla file in her hands which she assumed contained information about her. In the corner of her eye, she saw Ron shuffling awkwardly by the door, clearly unhappy to see his best friend's little sister treated this way.

"Ms. Potter. You missed your brother's wedding to your best friend. You miss the births of your nephews and niece. You miss every Christmas and every birthday-"

If the point of the interrogation was supposed to make the ball of guilt in her stomach she'd been nursing for the last eighteen years overwhelm her, it was working. Her last correspondence with her brother had been the invitation to his wedding, which he'd even sent to her the 'muggle way'. She remembered turning over the thick, ivory coloured parchment in her hands as she sat at her desk, trying to decide what to do. She knew if she went back she wouldn't be able to leave. In the end, she'd carefully burnt the invitation with a candle, and felt a hundred times lighter when it was was gone.

"-Yet you come back at the behest of Draco Malfoy, of all people! Will you please tell me why?" Hermione snapped, staring at Pepper with her arms folded, awaiting an explanation.

"He said Harry was missing." Pepper admitted quietly. Her eyes flickered up to Ron who was smiling sadly, then back to Hermione, who's expression had softened immensely.

"I'm listening." Hermione smiled at her. In that one smile, Pepper felt the tension in her flood away from her shoulders; she returned the smile, and started to tell her story.

* * *

S_ince the time and place for the trial had been moved at the last second, (that fact was whispered to them by a panic stricken Kingsley trying not to reveal he and Arthur Weasley were on first name terms) Virginia and Harry hurried, dishevelled, into the courtroom at least two minutes late. The sight inside was intimidating. Rows of wizards and witches in the identical, plum coloured robes of the Wizengamot glared down accusingly at them, in the front row sat the Minister for Magic himself._

_"See that chair?" Harry whispered as they stared into the room. "I saw that chair in the Dumbledore's pensieve, when you sit on it, those chains wrap so tightly around you, you can't even breathe..." Nervously, Virginia reflected that this trail seemed rather extreme for a simple case of underage magic._

_"You're late." Fudge snapped. His voice was unlike the kindly, middle aged version of the man she'd met in her third year. "Take your seat." At his command, Harry walked, pale faced over to the chair. "Are you lost little girl?"_

_"I'm the defence attorney." Pepper said with surprising confidence, as she walked over, smoothing own the muggle pencil skirt she was wearing. Ages ago, Aunt Petunia had once told her that, while clothing fads like dungarees, tie-die shirts and long skirts will come and go, smart would always 'be smart'. Hoping her smart muggle clothes would still be seen as smart in the Wizarding world, she walked up to her brother and stood beside him with as much confidence as she could muster._

_Apparently, her words were particularly amusing; a wave of laughter ripped through the courtroom, so that even Fudge was chuckling. Unfortunately, the expression on Harry's face became increasingly worried with every passing second._

_"Pepper do you know the first thing about Wizengamot?" Harry hissed, wincing his quiet words travelling surprisingly far around the hall._

_"No, but I've watched enough trashy dramas with Aunt Petunia over the years to understand how courtrooms work." She assured him. Far from being reassured, Harry put his face in his hands. His fate was resting on someone whose entire working knowledge of wizard criminal trials came from unrealistic, fictional, muggle television shows._

_"Thank you for offering to act as witness for the defence for your brother, Miss Potter." A voice came from the corner of the room. The mere sight of Albus Dumbledore's pure white beard, and the twinkling of his bright blue eyes made the Potter siblings fill with unexpected relief. "May it be placed on record that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is Witness for the defence, not Virginia Lilian Potter."_

_Resisting the urge to run over and hug her headmaster, Virginia simply mouthed the words 'thank you' across the hall, as mutterings spread throughout the court. Fudge and several of his supporters looked shocked and slightly irritated that Dumbledore had arrived at all._

_From his magical hat of tricks, Dumbledore was able to produce Mrs Figg, the woman who had babysat the Potter siblings for many years and had recently revealed herself to be a Squib. She have a particularly flaky testimony about how she saw a pair of big, cloak wearing Dementors 'running' towards a small, skinny boy and a very large boy. Indeed her description sounded like something out of _The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts_ by _Arsenius Jigger_ and left very few people convinced of the truth._

_"I call my second witness." Virginia felt relief wash over her as Dumbledore said these words. He had someone else up his sleeve. "You all have already been introduced to Miss Potter."_

_"Professor no!" Pepper whispered from her chair on the sidelines. "I wasn't even there."_

_In Privet Drive, most of the kids avoided her brother. To them he was the weird Potter boy who attended St Brutus's Institution for Incurably Criminal boys. Once she'd shown she wasn't insane however, they had no problems playing with her; especially as she'd even stand up for them when her cousin was looking for little kids to beat up. Therefore, at the time where Harry had stalked off from his usual spot underneath the Dursley's window where he listened for any stories of Voldemort on the muggle news, Pepper had been engaging in a particularly violent water fight with the other neighbourhood children and teenagers._

_"Dumbledore, it's clear this little girl has no information pertaining to the event in question." Fudge said, when Dumbledore had wrangled the whereabouts of Virginia during the attack out of her._

_"If you would be patient, Minister, I have a few more questions for my Witness. The nature of which I am certain you will find most convincing." Dumbledore smiled kindly up to the Wizengamot. "I'm sure no one here would want to see this poor boy falsely accused, especially as you've all taken the time to preside of the trail to ensure it's completely fair." Fudge looked outraged, however, was unable to say anything against Dumbledore's requests. Dumbledore shot a kindly wink at Virginia, before continuing. "Miss Potter, were you in the house when the accused and his cousin arrived back in the house?"_

_"I was."_

_"Please can you describe what state they were in?"_

_"Of course." Virginia smiled for the first time since Dumbledore called her up as a witness, finally guessing what his game plan was. "Dudley - our cousin - was hanging off Harry like he was unable to move his legs. His eyes and mouth were open in such a way that he almost looked as if he'd had a stroke. His skin was really pale and clammy with extremely ragged breath. My aunt and uncle thought he'd been mugged, they kept asking who'd done it to him. Unable to communicate in anyway other than primitive grunts, he eventually had enough strength to point at Harry. They eventually asked him if Harry had used magic to attack Dudley and he nodded. Harry insisted they give him chocolate which made him perk up and tell us how Harry had cast a spell to make him ill._

_"However, you said that Harry had conjured a Patronus - that was the only magic he used. Now, how could the Patronus charm mimic the symptoms of a Dementor attack. If you don't believe me, you can interview my cousin and my aunt and uncle or even the doctors - muggle healers - who treated him that night. They will describe the same symptoms as I have and you'll know we're telling the truth."_

_Sitting back in the chair, Virginia's nerves had been replaced with a smug confidence as she looked Fudge challengingly in the eyes._

_"Well, are you still unconvinced minister?" Dumbledore asked. "I'd be happy for members of the ministry to interview the muggles Miss Potter suggested."_

_"I want this matter over today." Fudge insisted. By now, he must've known he was going to lose. The calm, ruthless demeanour he'd possessed at the start of the hearing, had melted away revealing him as an extremely ruffled, furious, stubborn fool. "Her testimony is worthless. I doubt you have ever bothered to tot up the number of cock and bull stories this boy as come out with, that this girl fully supports. All the while, Dumbledore, you go to great lengths to cover up their flagrant misuse of magic out of school. Three years ago, he used the hover charm in front of a whole group of muggles-"_

_Virginia raised her hand confidently, interrupting his spiel._

_"Sorry minister, that was a house elf." Fudge's mouth hung open in disbelief as she spoke. "Admittedly, it sounds a little far-fetched, but the house elf is currently in the employ of Hogwarts school. I'm sure the headmaster would be willing to summon him-"_

_"I DO NOT HAVE TIME!" He roared down at her, temper causing much muttering around the Wizengamot. His face turned such an alarming shade of magenta, Virginia was sure it was off the Dulux colour chart; somehow able to control the smirk that was tugging at her lips. "He blew up his aunt, for Merlin's sake!" He banged his fist very heavily on the desk, however, it was the sudden pulse of magical fury that caused his ink bottle to shatter, splattering black ink all over his robes. Virginia bit back a smile._

_"Minister." Virginia raised her hand once more, speaking only a fraction of a second before Dumbledore interjected. "I seem to recall at the time you cleared him of all charges, and were more concerned with my brother's welfare. It was very kind of you to admit that even the best wizards are not always one hundred percent in control of their emotions."_

_"Thank you Miss Potter." Dumbledore smiled at her. "If you could wait outside while we finish up this session." Virginia beamed at him, standing gracefully and skipping out of the courtroom, feeling like she could walk on air._

* * *

While she spoke, a series of memos soured through the open doors. They were not memos as Pepper knew them, but little origami shapes; swans and paper aeroplanes and even a frog, that unfolded itself and sorted themselves into piles on the table. Every so often, Hermione would scribble a reply with the quill and ink that seemed to permanently bob around after her. At first, it was distracting, but Hermione seemed as used to it as Pepper was used to her phone going off in meetings.

_Her phone._

Being back in this impossible world had distracted her from real life. She was the CEO of a company who had just gone completely off the grid. There's been no signal on that beach in Dorset, nor could radio waves penetrate the ministry. The number of missed calls, texts and emails would be insurmountable, and they would only be the calls from her business associates. She was almost certain Tony would be calling her... well Tony would have instructed FRIDAY to contact her every ten seconds until she picked up.

Knowing Tony, he probably had ever CCTV camera in the world looking for her, as well as a trace on her cards and he'd probably even called the police. half of her expected a member of the Iron Legion to sour through the walls on the Ministry any second.

"You seem distracted." Hermione observed. "Perhaps you'd be interested in knowing I've had several owls from the American ministry already saying a muggle named Tony Stark was wreaking havoc in New York looking for his CEO. Five seconds of research made me realise who you were and I've already arranged a muggle paper trail, so you should be able to use your card and mobile phone without attracting any awkward questions."

"That you so much!" Pepper beamed. "I don't know how you do it, but you are amazing."

"You're welcome." Hermione smiled genuinely at her. "You're also welcome to stay for as long as you like. I expect you'll want to see your brother - he woke up about half an hour ago."

"Of course." Pepper said automatically, because she felt like she should.

In truth, she was terrified to see him again, especially now she had spoken with Hermione and Ron. What if he was as hostile towards her as Hermione had been? She didn't think she could cope with seeing disappointment in the eyes of someone who used to be her whole world. In the corner of the room, Ron suddenly cleared his throat loudly.

"A few years ago, Harry and Ginny took the kids to New York." He said. "They were having lunch at a muggle cafe close to Stank Tower-"

"It's pronounced _Stark_ Tower." Hermione corrected him.

"You tell it then!" Ron snapped, rolling his eyes.

"Very well." Hermione grinned, to Ron's dismay. Obviously, he'd been expecting her to apologise and let him finish telling the story his way. "So they had lunch at a muggle cafe close to Stark Tower and a load of muggle press run by them, shouting that Iron Man was arriving. They were a bit befuddled but nevertheless they followed the racing muggles at a distance to the foot of a tower when two muggle men got out the car with you. Ginny kept telling Harry to shout out, but he refused so she yelled '_Potter_'. Apparently you turned, looking really confused, but you didn't see them. He was scared you wouldn't want to see him."

"Of course I'd want to see him." Pepper whispered. "He's my big brother."

"Ginny will be delighted to know she was right." Ron said brightly, killing the emotional blanket that had come to rest over the room. "Shall we go? Hermione, erm sorry, the Minister and I need to collect the artefact and statement for Auror Potter."

"Rubbish." Hermione snorted. "You just want to stuff yourself with as much of Harry's chocolate as possible before the kids eat it all... He still gets a bucket load of gifts from admirers."

"More than you he ever did at school." Ron told her gleefully, a greedy glint in his eye. "We won't have to buy sweets for the next six months!"

Listening to Ron and Hermione's constant bickering almost made her feel as if she'd never been away. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. It took her a while to realised that it was Tony who was missing. Even if she'd be allowed to tell him who she truly was, she'd have no idea where to begin. Sighing longingly, she pulled her mobile out of her purse and checked it quickly (despite knowing she'd have no new emails or texts). It had become an irritating habit of hers to check her phone every few minutes or so, like almost every other muggle on the planet.

* * *

_The next fifteen minutes while Dumbledore wrapped up the hearing and the Wizengamot's votes determined Harry's fate, passed agonisingly slowly. Virginia leaned against the cold, marble wall, practising the breathing techniques she'd learnt at school to prevent the use of accidental magic. Even so, her secret nerves caused a few of the items in her purse, including a note book and several paperclips, to float gently out of her handbag. _

_The waiting finally ended as Dumbledore stormed almost angrily out of the court room, completely forgetting to glance in her direction as he hurried off down the corridor. That was the first ominous sign. The next came when the entire Wizengamot filed out, retracing Dumbledore's steps like ducklings trailing after a mother duck. When the last council person excited the room, Virginia took a nervous step back into the room. Harry still sat in the chair, looking like he'd been hit fifty times by the stunning curse. _

_"What happened in there?" She asked, dreading the answer. _

_"I got off." Harry said with a furrowed brow. Squealing in delight, Virginia pulled him off the chair into a tight, unwanted hug of celebration. For some reason he didn't seem particularly happy about the Wizengamot's decision. "Did Dumbledore seem a bit... off you you?" Harry asked. To be honest, Virginia had thought it odd that he hadn't stopped to whisper words of wisdom to her brother after the trial; she brushed that off as Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards in the world. He probably had better things to do than gossip with teenagers._

_"Don't look so glum!" She ordered, hands on her hips and looking at him sternly. Rather oddly, her brother stared at her for a few seconds, analysing her with his bright green eyes. Uncomfortable, Virginia rolled her eyes, very conscious that the blue of hers was inherited from neither her mother nor her father._

_"Your eyes are red?"_

_"Tears of joy, big brother." _

_"Have you been thinking about what Mad-Eye said to you when we arrived at Grimmauld place?" Harry asked with concern, tactically changing the subject from his own misery. "Because, in there, you were amazing. I think you did a better job than Dumbledore." _

_Grinning shyly at him, Virginia felt her cheeks turn pink. Her brother had fought dragons, mer-people, and even Lord Voldemort the year before, speaking in a trial could hardly be described as 'amazing' after that. Indeed, Mad-Eye Moody could probably twist her testimony to further his point that he could not believe a 'wet blanket' like her could be Lily and Jame's Potter's daughter. _

_"What if he's right?" She whispered. "What if I don't belong in this world."_

_"You always will, baby sister." Harry put his arm around her. "What are the Weasley's going to think then they see you blubbering and be grumpy as hell?" Unwillingly, Virginia cracked a smile. _

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**I want to try and update every Sunday, but if I'm not happy with the chapter or if I have plans or a particularly busy week at work, I might be a bit late!**_

_**The title of this chapter, "Reformations" mainly refers to how the ministry of magic has changed since Hermione has become minister, (although she obviously wouldn't have designed the commemorative statue of Harry, especially as it was Neville who actually beheaded the snake). One of my favourite changes was the house elf in dungarees - I like to think all the house elves at the ministry would have holidays, a fair wage and pensions and be happy with that. I also like to think that in Hermione's office there's an enchanted window looking out to the beach in Australia where her parents are now living (because after she oblivated them in the first book, she sent them to live in Australia) I imagine they liked it and decided to stay, even after she reminded found them and gave them their memories back. The idea for Hermione to ask Pepper her first ever phone number came from a meme on facebook, and I was very surprised that I could remember my parents old landline from almost ten years ago! **_

_**Not an awful lot has happened in the last couple of chapters, but I think it's important for Pepper's journey back into the Wizarding World. The next one (or two depending on how it goes) will be more interesting, because first, we get to see the Weasley's again and second, we find out what happened to Harry and the other Aurors. **_

_**The flashback in this chapter is from beginning the Order of the Phoenix when Harry goes to his trail for using the Patronus Charm against the dementors. The scene about which route to take on the underground was a little reference to Thor 2, when he got on at Charing Cross and the commuter told him the completely wrong way to get to Greenwich. Also, when Ron refers to "Stark" as "Stank" is based on Stan Lee's cameo in Civil war.**_

_**I've had a review from a guest saying that the story would be better with Virginia Potts and Ginny Weasley being the same person. I did think about this and decided against it as they have completely different personalities. For example, in Iron Man 2 when Natasha (posing as Natalie Rushman) threw Happy to the ground in a boxing ring, I can't imagine Ginny jumping up and screaming like Pepper did. If anyone else has any constructive criticism, please message me or leave a non-guest review so we can have a chat about how to improve my writing and the story :) **_

_**Thanks again to everyone leaving such lovely reviews / following / favouriting the story, you guys make my day! x**_


	7. Family Matters

Although it was possible to apparate or use floo powder to travel between St. Mungo's hospital and the Ministry of Magic, Hermione elected to walk though the streets of muggle London. They strolled to the tune of Ron's grumbling (about the protection detail) and the constant alerts from Pepper's mobile, notifying her of thousands of emails, texts and phone calls; only half of them were from Tony's AI.

Taking pity on her friend, Hermione agreed to let Pepper wait outside St. Mungos while she attempted to redirect the endless correspondence to her unwilling assistants. Pepper found a strange sense of relief in the hour long shred of normality she'd been given; even the high stress New York muggle business world was a welcome respite from the ridiculously dangerous Wizarding world.

When she finally stopped her assistant pulling her hair out, she no choice but to call Mr Stark and order him to step up. The idea was not one she relished. She knew the instant FRIDAY answered the phone, her call would be traced to London - unless the anti-muggle charms around the hospital interfered with the technology's ability to trace the call. It was unlikely. As far as she could see, the best case scenario would be Tony flying out to England, finding out about the magical word and (knowing him) probably announce it to the universe. The worst case scenario involved him convincing her to go back, leaving her family behind yet again.

Nothing could have prepared her for how events actually played out between the pair of them. Indeed, Tony answered the phone without any panic or worry or care in his voice, all she heard was anger.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" He bellowed down the phone, his tone surprisingly similar to the one Uncle Vernon used when she or her brother would accidentally mention the 'm' word. It made her feel small; she'd watched enough Disney movies to know Prince Charming wasn't supposed to make you feel like that. Gritting her teeth and hardening her heart, Pepper forced herself not to back down and grovel at his feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked innocently, silently cursing herself for the British accent that came racing out of her mouth. Luckily, Iron Man's acute hearing was dimmed by the furious pounding of blood in his ears, so he didn't notice her slip.

"Don't push me! Don't you dare..." His voice was so loud that several pedestrians glanced at her, brows furrowed as they heard the voice at the other end of her mobile. "You're supposed my girlfriend. If that mean's nothing to you then how about this, you're my employee, my CEO for God sakes! And you just disappear, next thing I hear is that you've bought a ticket to England!"

"I wonder how that must feel like." Her voice was thick with sarcasm as she spoke. "Having your partner disappear completely only to hear about their whereabouts on the news. Wait... I know exactly what that's like. You do it at least once a week." It hadn't been her intention to be so confrontational, however, she refused to be spoken down to as if she was his possession or some misbehaving child begging for forgiveness. "I've put my entire life on hold so you can fly off and and satisfy your little hero complex-"

"So what is this? A punishment? Or is this you taking your life back by eloping with that blond haired guy-"

"Eloping? You think I'm eloping with that greasy, slimy creep?" She snapped incredulously. For the first time, Tony stopped talking, trying to think of another accusation to hurl in her direction. Pepper stole the brief silence as an opportunity to force Tony Stark to listen. "How many times do I have to say this? My life does not revolve around you!" Already, her throat felt sore from the loud exchange. She began to feel extremely conscious of the curious and judging expressions of the faces of the strangers around her. "I have a friend who's in trouble-" She started to explain, while attempting to hide her face with her hand

"What friend?" Tony scoffed in disbelief. "Just the other day you told me I was all you had..."

"I have friends!"

"No, you have business contacts!" He snapped. The truth of his words cut deep into her soul, carving wounds he could never understand. "I have never met anyone that you're willing to let your guard down around-"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Well then tell me who the mystery, English friend is you had to go and save at the last minute." He let out a loud, sadistic laugh. "Go on, let's see what story you can come up with..."

"MY BROTHER!" Started passers by turned to glare at her for disturbing their walks, yet it was the only thing she could think to say that would shut him up.

"You don't have a brother." He said quietly.

"Or perhaps you've just never bothered to ask." Pepper said, knowing her words weren't fair. "Perhaps, you're incapable in talking about anyone or anything other than yourself and the avengers."

"Well if that's how you feel-"

"It is!"

"-then I don't think I have anything left to say." There was something broken in his voice that made guilt fill her like some sort of disease. "Goodbye Ms. Potts." Her heart skipped a beat. Did she have it in her to say goodbye to him for good? She'd told him she'd quit what felt like a thousand times before, but it had never played out, because they loved each other. Because he was all she had. As dysfunctional as their relationship was, he was the closest thing she had to family in the muggle world. It had been hard enough to say goodbye to her Wizarding family all those years ago, she didn't think she had thick enough skin to endure another change.

* * *

_"Harry Potter."_

_The instant her brother's name rang out in the great hall, a silence so intense she could have heard a pin drop descended across the room. Everyone in the three schools stared at her brother. He hadn't entered the tri-wizard tournament, of this, Virginia was certain. His eyes were wide, face showing more shock than anyone else in the room. Everyone else seemed to be annoyed. A furious buzz filled the air as people hissed his name, commenting that he wasn't old enough. Not even one person smiled as he dragged his feet down the length of the hall, eyes fixed upon his toes. _

_Sadly, almost no one else saw this reaction as anything but proof of guilt. Most students in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin believed Harry to be an attention seeking, teachers pet, conspiring to take all the schools glory for himself. As rumours spread, the almost the entire school turned their backs on the boy-who-lived. The boy they'd once regarded as a celebrity. True, he still had a few friends left in Gryffindor, but most rallied around Cedric. The other Hogwarts Champion. _

_Badges boasting the slogan 'support Cedric Diggery' were passed around the school like wild fire, and were made even more popular when a group of six year Hufflepuffs, with the wit of six year olds, enchanted them to say 'Potter Stinks' when they were pressed. It didn't matter that her name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire; her unwavering support for her brother along with her unfortunate surname had the entire Ravenclaw common room pressing their badges whenever she walked into the room. She went to bed with jeers and cruel laughs following her up the stairs to her dormitory._

_Of course, Luna was the only person the whole of Ravenclaw house who had even a remotely kind word to say to her. Luna Lovegood was the only person who didn't seem to care how Virginia's Potter's famous brother had gotten his name into the goblet of fire. However, as loyal as she was, she wasn't always the most helpful person, as Virginia found out in one defence against the dark arts lesson where everyone was sniggering at the back of the class._

_"Miss Potter" Moody growled. "I suggest you take a seat at the back of the classroom, and Miss Morag, if you keep sniggering you'll get a detention." Virginia sent a baffled glance at Luna before taking a seat at the other end of the classroom. Her back stung as she sat back in the chair; she supposed she had slept at an awkward angle as it had been aching all morning._

_"What's he talking about?" She whispered to the last person who seemed to have anything nice to say to her._

_"I think it's the way you accessorised your robes." Luna told her, in her usual dreamlike tone._

_"Luna, I didn't accessorise my robes." Virginia hissed, very aware that more people had been laughing and whispering as she walked past more frequently than normal. Craning her neck, she looked at her back where the words 'Potter Stinks' were emblazoned in writing that looked like muggle glow in the dark paint. _

_In her first year, she'd learnt quickly not to let the words of other's get to her when everyone believed her to be the heir of Slytherin's sister, but since that disaster, she'd thought she'd made friends in her house. In one fell swoop, those supposed friends had tarnished the respect she'd built up as a student ambassador for the foreign students and had made her nothing but a joke. Tears of shame and humiliation began to build up to the point where she did not dare to breath; had she not been in a crowded classroom, she probably would have sobbed silently into her cursed robes. _

_"I personally think you smell lovely, like elder-flower." Luna told her, eyes wide with sincerity, misjudging the horrified expression on Virginia's face. _

_It was with unexpected kindness that Moody instructed her to stay behind, and even summoned one of her muggle outfits for her to change into. Anything was better than staying in her Hogwarts robes; even the old pair of dungarees that were an inch too small for her legs and gave her a wedgy coupled with one of Dudley's old shirts that she and Aunt Petunia garishly tie dyed in an attempt to jazz up his wardrobe._

_"_Scorgify _won't get those letters out." He growled. "That's cursed on, will probably even be written on your back by now. Your parents would have never been so foolish as to get themselves cursed like that. Even your brother exercises more vigilance than you. Foolish girl." With a large bang, he put an ancient, dusty looking cauldron down on her desk, half filled with raw ingredients, including one little bottle filled with blue liquid. As he stared down hat her with his one good eye, his false eye spun around him its socket, so it faced the door. Wordlessly, he flicked his wand, and the heavy, oak classroom door swung open to reveal a stunned looking boy. "Mr Scamander, your detention involves helping Miss Potter clean her robes." _

_Shyly, the tall, skinny boy she recognised as Rolf Scamander walked over to her, his eyes fixed on his odd shoes, one brown, one blue. He had a glorious tumble of sandy coloured curls that fell gracefully to his shoulders that most girls would kill for, half hidden by a yellow Hufflepuff scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck despite the mild weather. _

_Great. A Hufflepuff. _

_The last thing she wanted was to have someone shoving down her throat how great Cedric Diggory was in comparison to her brother; she'd listened to enough of that over the last couple of days. As he opened his long, thin lips to speak, she mentally prepared herself for more pro-Cedric propaganda. _

_"That's Murtlap essence." The boy said awkwardly, nodding to the vial in her hands. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. "It's extremely effective at removing curse scars... may I?" Clumsily, he reached past her to grasp the cauldron and began making a potion he seemed particularly familiar with in complete silence. His only acknowledgement of her presence occurred when she offered help, on multiply occasion and he just glanced awkwardly at her, not knowing what to say._

_When he was done, he jerked his head to let her know it was time to scrub her robes in the bright blue liquid. Nervously, she did as he told her too, half expecting to end up with 'Potter Stinks' written in pimples across her forehead._

_"You're really Pepper Potter then?" Rolf asked, as he caught a glimpse of the two words scrawled on the back of her robes. As she nodded, Virginia couldn't help but wish they'd remained in the uncomfortable quiet. "Can I ask... have you always been named after a condiment?" Having been expecting him to ask a question about her brother, as did almost everyone else when they found out who she was, she paused for too long, contemplating his words. "Sorry was that rude?" His voice was quieter, his eyes directed at her feet. "I'm not very good at talking to people, my mum said I should ask people questions but I always seem to ask the wrong one."_

_"No it's fine." Virginia reassured him, realising for the first time the lack of malice behind his hazel eyes. "It's just something people call be because..." Pausing, Virginia wondered what the best explanation would be. In the end, she settled on saying; "I'm allergic to strawberries." Part of her was expecting him to look confused or to ask a follow-up question, she certainly hadn't expected him to let out a loud snort of laughter._

_"Did - erm - did you have rather a nasty reaction to pepper-up potion?" He asked, still staring out the window rather than looking into her eyes. _

_"Yes!" She chuckled with him. "Nearly no one gets that!"_

_"Well, pepper-up potion has some rather fascinating medicinal abilities for not only humans but many other magical species..." His voice trailed off. "Sorry, my mum says I shouldn't go on about magical creatures." He mumbled, watching as she began to scrub the two words off her robes._

_"No, it's ok." She wasn't going to spurn the one person who'd actually spoken to her kindly who wasn't Luna or a Weasley. "It's nice to have someone to talk to about something other than the Tri-Wizard tournament." __By her words, she meant people asking how her brother had entered the blasted thing, and how she could be so sure he didn't enter. Her first point was always the same: how could he get past Dumbledore's age line? Secondly the cup obviously had some form of intelligence that allowed it to select one student from each school. Why choose two from Hogwarts? Moody had said only dark magic could confund the Goblet, well beyond the abilities of a fourth year. Because the truth wasn't interesting, People didn't believe it. _

_"Yes, that seems to be at the forefront of every ones minds." He nodded, his blond curls bobbing up and down only lightly out of time with the rest of his head. They fell into yet another silence. "People don't really like you, do they?" He eventually asked her. Not knowing how to reply, she merely shrugged. "They say mean things about you and... well... they did that." He nodded awkwardly to her graffitied robes. _

_"It's not me." She told him. "At least, I don't think it is. It's my brother; people think he's an attention seeking teachers pet, conspiring to take all the schools glory for himself. They end up taking their anger out on me as well." An adorable little crinkle appeared between his eyes as he pondered her words._

_"Doesn't that bother you?"_

_"I don't let it." She shrugged. "It's never permanent, once he get's though the first task everyone will love him again." _

_To her surprise, at the mention of the first task, his eyes dropped to his feet and nerves crept upon his freckly face. _

_"You're going to ask me how to do it, aren't you?" He murmured. Confused, Virginia stared at his slumped figure; sadness seemed to be oozing from him as the stink of aftershave oozed from Hagrid the last time she saw him. "You're going to ask me how to get past a dragon."_

_"Why on earth would I ask you that?" Virginia laughed. _

_"The first task..."_

_"The first task is dragons?!" _

_"Your brother told Cedric, I would have thought you'd known." The crinkle on his forehead only deepened. _

_Virginia, on the other hand, was experience a rush of emotions far greater than confusion. Anger was at the forefront of her mind; she was angry he hadn't told her. Over the past three years, he'd hidden things from her; everything to do with the chamber of secrets and whatever happened the year before with Sirius Black. This however, was important, especially when she'd been one of the few to blindly support him after his name emerged from the Goblet. He had no idea how much she'd been through because of that one moment..._

_He didn't know. Because she hadn't told him; she'd assumed he had enough on his plate. As quickly as her temper had boiled, it calmed and was replaced with shame. Once upon a time, they had told each other everything. She missed that. _

_"So Cedric has a plan then?" She asked; Rolf nodded. Sighing, Virginia turned back to scribbling her robes; her hands taking on a bluish tinge from the potion. She had a strong feeling that Fleur and Krum would know as well; they'd both have plans spoon fed to them by their head teachers. Knowing Harry's style, he'd go in blind and make it up as he went along. Maybe that had worked in the past, by it might not be enough this time._

_"I can tell you what I told him..."_

_"No!" She exclaimed. The last thing she wanted was to let him think the only reason she was talking to him was the tournament; it would feel like abuse of his kindly nature. "Besides, you can see what happens to the people jumping on the Potter support train, it's not particularly nice."_

_"I'm not suggesting I do." He mumbled. For the first time that conversation, he raised his head so he was looking at her directly in the eyes. "Pepper, I don't take sides. I gave this information to Cedric, It's only fair I give it to you too." Rendered speechless, Pepper could only nod as he began a short lecture about dragons. It was another half hour before they were interrupted by Mad-Eye Moody leaving his office._

_"You still here?" He grumbled, his false eye spinning around the school. "Potter, are you brewing a revenge plan behind that pretty face of yours? It's the sort of thing your father would do." He didn't even give her the chance to deny it. "You need a plan of course, that plays to your strengths, otherwise you'll probably end up at the hospital wing-" _

_She stopped listening... Without knowing it, Mad-Eye Moody had given her a brainwave. _

_Since Ron had refused to talk to her brother, Harry spent most of his time in the library with Hermione. That was exactly where she found him, chin resting on a book about caring for dragon hide boots. Clearly, he'd exhausted the rest of the library's stash of books about dragons and was now scraping the bottom of the barrel. _

_"You have a blue forehead." He mumbled as she rushed up to him, stinking of the bleach smelling potion Rolf had made. Virginia brushed off his comment, as she sat down opposite him, her blue hands resting on the desk. _

_"You need a plan." She echoed Moody's words in a low, urgent tone. "What are your strengths?" Her words caught him off guard, so much so that he stared at her blankly with his bright green eyes. "Harry James Potter, can you really not think of a single thing you're good at?" She asked sternly. After a life with the Dursley's telling him how worthless he was, it wasn't really a surprise that he couldn't come up with an answer. Even so, she pursed her lips and folded her arms trying to make her look stern, like Professor McGonagall, but her attempts just brought a smile to his face._

_"I dunno Gin." He shrugged. "I can fly... I'm a fair flyer." _

_"I knew you'd say that." Grinning, Virginia lent across the table to speak in hushed tones. "Look, Rolf Scamander told me that a dragon's a bit like a Labrador or a Spaniel-" _

_"How did you know a dragon is the first task?" He interrupted her, eyes flicking over to where Hermione stood by the book cases, pretending not to be listening intently. "More importantly, how can you draw parallels between a dragon and Labrador?" _

_"Ok, to answer your first question, you told Cedric about the dragons, who asked Rolf how to get past them, and Rolf told me." Virginia told him, rolling her eyes as if bored. "And, as for the second question, you'd know if you let me finish my sentence." Humbled, her brother nodded, looking at the ground. "A dragon is like a dog in that it can't resist chasing things, you know like you and Aunt Marge's pitbulls?" Harry shuddered at the memory. "So you need to irritate the dragon, not enough to make it angry, but just so it wants to chase you. They're extremely precise, so it will come after you at a fixed trajectory. Then you can whizz past it at the last second." _

_Triumphant, she sat back in the chair, taking in his stunned reaction. Some people would have questioned the reliability of the information she'd attained from Rolf. As a Hufflepuff, people like Fred and George were bound to think he had been recruited by Cedric's supporters to sabotage Harry. Yet, even after knowing him for only an hour, Virginia felt like she could trust the shy, awkward boy. She'd believed him when he looked into her eyes from the first time and told her that he doesn't take sides. _

_"But I'm not allowed a broom." Harry told her, when he'd eventually gotten over his shock. A smile tugged at her cheekbones._

_"I knew you'd say that." She grinned, pointing her wand at the dragon hide book at his hand. "_Accio _book." She said. As her clothes had whizzed towards them after Moody used the charm, Harry's library book lurched towards her. The summoning charm was one the Ravenclaw fourth years had been showing off for weeks; too lazy to get up and walk to their quills. Like her mother, Virginia had a talent for charms and had easily learnt the spell (after several hours practising). "This will work Harry." She promised. "Please trust me."_

* * *

Hermione was waiting outside Harry's ward her her when Pepper finally reached the correct floor, thoroughly fed up with the number of times she was stopped and asked whether she was a muggle. She was greeted with similar confused and curious eyes outside the ward, as Hermione was surrounded with two brunette children with extremely frizzy hair who she introduced as Rose and Hugo.

"I've seen you on the muggle news!" The girl exclaimed, staring at Pepper with wide eyes. "You're the CEO of Stark industries. They used to make weapons but... but when bad people got hold of the weapon's the owner decided to make money by becoming a superhero and your job now is just to babysit him." It sounded like the sort of thing the Daily Mail would write, Pepper reflected. She supposed whenever Ron chose the muggle newspapers he just picked the ones with the most pictures.

"What's a CEO?" The little boy asked his older sister.

"It stands for chief... executive... officer." The girl told him. Between each word she looked up at Hermione, who nodded proudly.

"That's stupid!" The boy announced, to the little girls sincere protests. "If she's just a babysitter it should stand for... child... encumbrance... officer." There was no doubt these children were Hermione and Ron's; they even bickered in the same way their parents did.

Hermione sent Pepper an apologetic expression, that she had seen on the faces of many parents when they became over excited about meeting Iron Man. Out of habit, Pepper smiled back, not allowing herself to feel any sadness or jealousy.

"Does everyone have kids?" She couldn't stop herself from asking the question, however, she worked hard to keep any undertones of jealousy out of her voice. Luckily, Hermione's answer gave no impression that the question was anything other than completely innocent.

"Everyone except Charlie, the self proclaimed eternal bachelor." Hermione explained. "Most of the kids are at Hogwarts though." Hermione's hand paused on the handle. "I will warn you, there's still enough Weasley's in there for two Quidditch teams."

Despite her apprehension that she'd be met with hostility and anguish by Harry's extended family, Pepper had no choice but to follow Hermione into the ward's waiting room. Almost instantly she felt as though she was being attacked as a red haired, stocky man bulldozed her into the wall, throwing his arms around her in a suffocating bear hug. At first, she let out a small scream that, eventually, was replaced with an awkward laugh as she recognised George Weasley's lopsided grin.

"Goodness George, let the poor girl breathe!" Even though she'd shrunk a few inches, with deeper wrinkles and streaks of grey in her red, frizzy hair, there was no mistaking Mrs Weasley's authoritative, caring voice and her warm, motherly hugs.

She'd been eleven years old when she'd walked out of the blue, flying Ford and wondered into the lopsided Weasley house, only to be confronted by the most terrifying witch she'd ever seen. Somehow, Mrs Weasley had managed to discipline her sons and threaten them with bars on their windows whilst lovingly piling endless spoonfuls of food onto her and Harry's plates, telling them they needed to be fattened up. Since they were used to Aunt Petunia treating Harry like a servant and treating Pepper like a fashion accessory, Mrs Weasley very quickly became the closest thing to a mother-figure either she or Harry had ever had.

"It's so wonderful to see you, dear!" She pinched the skin on Pepper's cheeks fondly. "You're looking very skinny-" Before her lecture on Pepper's weight began, Mr Weasley rescued her, an enormous, welcoming smile on his face.

"So you've been living with muggles all these years." He nodded eagerly. "I was wondering whether you could tell me that all this 'sustainable power' lark is. People are always talking about it when your picture is in the muggle news..."

"That and the Tin Man." Bill rolled his eyes. "Dad, you can interrogate her later, she's only just walked through the door!" His wife, Fleur, gave her a proper French greeting with a kiss on two cheeks before starting to chat about her three children; Victoire, Dominique, and Louis.

"We let zem choose which school to attend." Fleur told her proudly. "Victoire chose 'Ogwarts, but Dominique and Louis both chose Beauxbatons. But what about you? Any children on ze way?" Pepper shook her head, murmuring something about having discussed it with Tony. In truth, their discussion about babies was centred around the creation of Stark Tower, luckily she was once more accosted by George once more who eagerly chatted about his children; Fred and Roxanne as well as Percy's children; Lucy and Molly. Apparently, his formally pompous big brother had started to get his hands dirty and invest most of his time in Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

"He has a good head for business, not as good as yours, obviously." George told her, his grin never faltering. "And he's pretty good at ideas, apparently he actually picked up a few things from all those pranks we played on him as kids."

"When you victimised him you mean." Hermione tutted, fixing him with her most minister-like glare that only made George laugh harder. Pepper couldn't help but wonder how long after Fred's death had he started smiling again. "Pepper, come see your brother... Oof!" Hermione gasped as she was head butted in the stomach by a little skinny boy with black, messy hair and glasses who was, without a doubt, Harry's son.

"Are you my auntie?" The boy asked, fixing Pepper with his bright green, curious eyes.

"Yes she is, Albus darling." Mrs Weasley grabbed her Grandson's shoulders and smiled happily at Pepper. "Sadly she can't talk right now, she and auntie Hermione are on a tight schedule." At this, all the children rolled their eyes (apparently auntie Hermione was always on a tight schedule) , and stood away from the door so they could enter Auror Potter's private room.

As the door opened, Pepper's stomach started twisting in nauseating somersaults and made her feel very dizzy. The day had been extremely overwhelming and stressful; somehow she'd muddled though it without eating a single bite of food. Taking an extremely deep breath, Pepper manoeuvred herself past the final hurdle and strode into her brother's hospital room.

At first, his figure was hidden by Ginny who was perched at his bedside, her face lined with worry. Rudely, Ron cleared his throat, shattering whatever romantic moment they were having; making Ginny look up to acknowledge they were there.

"Pepper!" Ginny's eyes widened, clearly unsure about whether she should hug Pepper or slap her. All Pepper could think to do, was send a sympathetic wave to her old best friend while looking straight past her to Harry. Her brother placed a gentle hand an Ginny, silently telling her everything was ok. Ginny shifted her position, allowing Pepper to look straight into her brother's eyes. Almost instantly, her eyes were stinging with salty tears as she realised how much she'd missed him.

"Your eyes are red, baby sister." He told her, with a large, goofy grin that looked out of place on a face she was used to looking sincere.

"Tears of joy big brother." She whispered back, echoing his smile.

* * *

_As she'd predicted, after the first task people started talking to her again, as if they had never teased her. It always surprised her how fickle people were; her brother flies past a dragon and he's a hero when half an hour earlier, he's an attention seeking teachers pet - and whatever else Rita Skeeter had written in her foul article._

_Even if the other students had forgotten how they'd treated her, Virginia hadn't forgotten. All her life, she'd striven to practice the whole forgive and forget thing, and, although she had made a conscious decision to forgive people, she was determined not to forget who had actually been there for her when she'd needed them. Thus, she ended up, on one chilly November afternoon, helping Rolf tie scarves around the necks of Hagrid's Bowtruckles._

_A long time ago, she'd realised that animals didn't like her much; Hedwig, Errol and Pigwigon had all taken turns to shit on her and had given her a rather irrational fear of the post arriving. A dog's barking made her nervous and when the Dursley's sent her to Mrs Figg's house, all six cats clawed at her arms whenever she ventured to close and even the Hogwarts cats didn't like her much. The only cat who didn't seem to mind her presence was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks._

_"He's not a cat." Rolf had told her once. "He's a Flerkin." Virginia had ignored this comment, assuming a Flerkin was the same sort of made up magical creature as a Crumple Horned Snorkack or Nargles or whatever else Luna fervently insisted existed. _

_However, Rolf was not like Luna, indeed her was a little bit nervous of her. His knowledge and passion for magical creatures was like nothing she'd ever seen before, something he'd inherited from his grandfather, the famous biologist Newt Scamander. Everything he said seemed to be backed up by the way all magical and non magical animals gravitated towards him. With surprising delicacy, he was able to tie the slither of material he'd made around the little twig-like creatures._

_"There you go." He smiled happily. "And don't go taking it off, you'll catch your death otherwise." Virginia couldn't help but laugh at him when, in her words, he acted like a 'mother duck'. "It's theorised that, in the right conditions, they have the potential grow up to a hundred feet tall, and can learn how to speak English, rather than communicating in squeaks."_

_"What would the right conditions be?" She asked, as one of the Bowtruckles leapt onto her shoulder and started clambering out of of her plaits, playing as if her hair was a set of monkey bars. _

_"No one knows." Rolf shrugged. "My grandfather can simulate all sorts of conditions in his brief case, but never managed it. In his old age, he kept saying that he perhaps another planet would have the right conditions."_

_"Can I quote you on that?" A high, female voice asked from behind them. Virginia and Rolf spun around, to see a middle-aged woman standing before them, a emerald green quill floating above a long line of parchment. "Newt Scamander, famed writer of Care of Magical Creatures gone barmy in his old age speaking of the stars." By the way her quill scribbled down the words she's stolen from Rolf, twisted and poisoned, Virginia could guess who this was. "Miss Potter, my name is Rita Skeeter, from the Daily Profit." She giggled the irritating, high pitched giggle of a twelve year old girl while flicking one of her bleached blond ringlets out of her face. _

_Virginia recognised the journalist's name from the frankly outrageous article about her brother entering into the tournament. She'd been shocked, amazed and outraged that she was allowed to publish so many articles that were simply trash with no reliable sources. Such a thing would never be allowed in the muggle world... well it would, but it probably wouldn't be in a paper the equivalent of the Daily Prophet._

_"I've been asked to interview all the families after the tournament, so tell me." She said, a hovering quill copying down every word she said. "How do you feel about your brother entering the Tri-Wizard tournament? Are you concerned it shows a pathological need for attention or, worse, a psychotic death wish?"_

_Virginia Potter's mouth fell open in shock and the quill kept scribbling. Unable to read what the parchment said, Virginia did catch a few words including 'speechless' and 'intricate cover-up'._

_"My brother didn't enter." Virginia said slowly. "I suppose, whomever put his name in the goblet of fire has some sort of agenda... there's not enough evidence yet to suggest what that may be."_

_"Murder perhaps?" The journalist raised one bleached blond eyebrow unnaturally high. Unwilling to sound morbid, Virginia shrugged, which sent the quill writing reams of nonsense about her being to afraid for her 'little brother' to speak. "Tell me, why would anyone want your little brother dead? His name in revered in many circles." _

_"You're kidding right?" Virginia laughed. "He's Harry Potter. I'm willing to bet a quarter of the Wizarding world would happily kill him to carry favour with you-know-who." _

_"Doesn't it sound more realistic that, instead of a rather extravagant and risky murder scheme by a dark Wizard whose been dead for thirteen years, your little brother utilised Dumbledore's blatant favouritism to enter? Could it be that the idea that the mere idea of another Hogwarts student, a Hufflepuff no less, ripping the attention to which your brother so desperately clings if a haunting premise for him and lead him to enter?"_

_"No." Rita's words were so ridiculous, they weren't even remotely amusing. _

_"My darling Virgy-"_

_"Don't call me Virgy."_

_"-I don't understand why you're so unwilling to open up. Don't see this as turning on your brother, see this an an opportunity to tell the truth. The little boy behind the scar. What in your childhood could lead him into risking his life so frivolously?"_

_"Very well then." Virginia said, in a gossiping tone that she absolutely hated. A if she would be speaking in a low voice, she leant forward, "just between you and me, my _big _brother has never, and will never lie to me. We have no secrets, so I can tell you with the utmost certainty that he detests this attention. I doubt he'd even enter the contest on his volition if he was seventeen, because he doesn't want glory and doesn't need gold. He just wants to be normal, but sadly, he can't be treated like a normal _fourteen _year told because of people like you. You ought to be ashamed." _

_"I've spoken to some of your little friends about you." Rita said stepping forward and pressing her finger against Virginia's chest. She left her plait move slightly as the terrified Bowtruckle peaked out from behind it. "They say you prefer the company of freaks like him and Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter, who's just as batty as he is. Now I see why. You give the impression of being a sweet, mild mannered, confident, talented little girl when I see the madness behind those eyes..."_

_"Don't you dare say anything more about my friends." Virginia warned dangerously, her hand clutching her wand. People like Rolf and Luna may not be one's first choice when it came to choosing friends, but they were the one's that stood by her even when no one else would, and she'd repay the favour even if it killed her. "They're worth ten of you." She didn't have to curse Skeeter in the end, the Bowtruckle leapt out from between her plaits and bit the journalist with surprising strength on the perfectly manicured finger that was pressing into Virginia's chest. _

_The journalist let out a little scream flicking her blond ringlet as she hurried away, struggling to move quickly in her ridiculous heels and light, garish outfit. Virginia's initial euphoria dissipated as soon replaced by a feeling of dread. Rita's writing could not only deepen her unpopularity within the school, but had the potential to turn much of the Wizarding adults against her. _

_"Why did you lie?" Rolf asked her in a small voice. "Just now, when you said you didn't have any secrets from your brother." His words came as a surprise, even though he knew she was purposefully not telling Harry about how deeply the 'Potter Stinks' campaign had cut her. _

_"He's my brother." Virginia shrugged, placing her hands back into the cauldron containing her robes. "I don't care how much older he is or how much he annoys me, it's my job to look after him... well not my job, I'm happy to do it."_

_"Even when you get punished by the other students when you do?" He frowned in confusion. Many of the things she did naturally often puzzled him; not for the first time, Virginia reflected that he understood animal interactions far better than he understood other humans. _

_"Sometimes people behave irrationally for the people they love."_

_"Even though you're both hiding things from each other?" A crinkle appeared between his eyebrows as he thought carefully about her words, staring at the book as if it was expecting him to reveal information about the human mind. "I don't think you should have been a Ravenclaw." He eventually announced. The treat of a smile tugged at the edges of her lips as she waited for him to explain his statement. "You should have been a Hufflepuff, you're the loyalist person I know."_

* * *

Years of being one of Britain's best Auror's had taken it's toll on his looks. Although he'd managed to spare his face from the more horrendous injuries Mad-Eye had sported, what she could see of his arms and legs were covered with scars that could not be magically healed. The most recent one, was a large gash on his leg that had apparently been bound with spider webs (one of Rolf's less brilliant ideas), however, although it had allowed him to walk, the webbing had infected the wound.

"There will be spiders crawling out of my leg at night, burrowing through my flesh..." A sickened looking Ron slapped him hard, making Harry laugh out loud.

She still wasn't quite used to this new, carefree, happy, joking Harry. He'd already explained the change was due to the part of Voldemort's soul leaving his body back when he was seventeen - something he spoke about in a very blasé manner. However, Pepper still hadn't forgotten watching Voldemort murder him at close range; her shiver stopped him from trying to explain.

"Right then." Harry moved on, eyes falling from Pepper to Hermione. "Shall we get this over with?"

Only he could access the contents of his moleskin bag, so the other Aurors hadn't been able to access the artefact until that moment. After digging around in the bag for a few seconds, he pulled out an object Pepper couldn't quite see. She could just about see its silvery surface glinting in the sunlight that reminded Pepper of the way Captain Rogers' shield shone when it was freshly polished. While Pepper craned her neck to get a better look, Hermione flicked her wand, causing an ink pot, quill and parchment to float out of her handbag and hover at her shoulder, poised to write. Pepper's mind flickered back to that horrendous interview with Rita Skeeter and, by the irritated expression on Ron's face, she could tell the thought the same thing.

"Mission report of Auror H.J. Potter-" Harry stated clearly, not even glancing at the quill as it immediately started scribbling across the paper.

"The Aurors now have to give an official report to the minister." Ron muttered darkly in her ear, seeing the confused expression on her face, "about what happened, how we dealt with it and the 'lesson's learnt'. Afterwards, the reports are graded. I've done about a thousand... never get above an E." Hermione pursed her lips disapprovingly at her husband's tone of voice, all the while making an obvious effort to look at Harry.

"-mission code is 26781R. Retrieval of potentially dangerous artefact. Artefact research conducted by D. Malfoy. Description of object... well... it kinda looks like half a PlayStation controller." Harry shrugged, tossing the artefact between his hands; the action made Ron wince each time he caught it. Noticing this, Harry grinned and handed the artefact to Pepper. "It's been scanned by a dark detector; it sound no traces of dark magic."

His words did very little to reassure her as she took the cool metal object in her hands. It was surprisingly light, and strong, furthermore, it did not seem to retain any of the heat from Harry's hand. There was only one type of metal she knew that behaved in that way.

"It's made from Vibranuim." She told them, as she turned the object over in her hands, staring at the strange markings scrawled across the sides. Having taken ancient runes, she knew that the markings were not from an ancient Wizarding civilisation, nor did they look like anything she'd ever seen in the muggle world.

"Also, it doesn't seem to possess any obvious magical powers." Harry said, surprising the other four adults in the room. "My baby sister has always had an unusual ability to sense magical quantities in pretty much everything... Apparently it's quite a common trait in muggleborns." Hermione looked rather indignant that she didn't have this innate sixth sense.

"So it means it's not magical?" Ron asked, wide eyed.

"Well of course it will need more tests." Hermione said, arms folded. "I've read about objects that can appear perfectly normal to the naked eye; avoid all sorts of basic magical tests and suddenly bam! A whole street of muggles have been turned into canaries." That sounded like a Weasley product, Pepper smiled at the thought, causing Hermione to fix her with an disapproving glare. Luckily, Ron spoke before Hermione could start lecturing her on the severity of the event.

"Hermione has a point, mate." Rob said nervously. "It made you properly disappear for days!"

"If it weren't for Malfoy seeking out Pepper for his searching potion, you'd probably still be lost." Hermione explained sadly.

"I find it hard to believe Malfoy made a searching potion!" Harry scoffed, tactically changing the subject at the concerned expression on his wife's face. "After Professor Snape stopped handing him and other other Slytherins generous hints, he completely flunked it!"

"Says the person who found it easy to believe he was skilled enough to be a death eater at sixteen." Ginny said, disapprovingly.

"Well I was right about that." Harry winked at her. "He was trying to kill Dumbledore... but, since he's about as cunning as a brick, he failed didn't he? Dumbledore died by Snape's hand as he planned.

Something in his words irritated her. Every crude remark Malfoy had made and every ambitious scheme he'd cooked up at school, had been rather obvious: Whereas whatever he was scheming now was an intriguing web of deception. True he could have changed over the last few years, but by the expressions on the face of her brother and his friends, it was unlikely.

"Where could he have obtained the potion then?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

"Dunno." Ron shrugged.

"Thank you for that enlightening input Ronald." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Goodness sake, stop bickering the pair of you!" Ginny rolled her eyes, before turning to Pepper. "Do you remember Astoria Greengrass? She married Malfoy..."

Astoria Greengrass was a Slytherin girl who was in the year below Pepper and Ginny. Even when she was eleven, it had been clear she was one of the most beautiful girl in the whole school. What's more, she was extremely intelligent. In their sixth year, while Snape was the headmaster, Astoria had been one of the Slytherins who helped the Carrows to brew Veritaserum for interrogating students linked to Harry to try and gain some information on his whereabouts. She was still ashamed over the amount of information she had given them.

"Veritaserum is well below the skill set of a normal fifth year." Hermione told them, her quill scribbling behind her as Rita Skeeter's had all those years ago. "I'll check with the education board to see whether she did a potions mastery after school. In the mean time, I need a full statement of everything that happened when you disappeared." As she spoke, her voice became far more formal, completely different from when she'd been speaking to her children. It was almost as if she'd developed an alternate personality to wear while being Minister Granger-Weasley than when she was Hermione; friend, wife, mother. Ron's expression began to darken at the change while Harry just rolled his eyes. In school, he'd always been a buffer between the two of them when they'd fought, Pepper guessed that role had extended to become their marriage counsellor.

"Ah... yeah." Harry said, a sheepish expression on his face as he itched his scar nervously. At first, Pepper's mind flickered the the dark lord... but he was long gane and, by the almost bored expressions on Ginny and Hermione's faces, this had just turned into a nervous habit. "That's when it gets a tad unbelievable."

"Why?" Pepper asked nervously, just as Ginny asked;

"What happened?" Both women sounded like they'd rather not hear the answer to his question, while Ron just looked queasy and Hermione had adopted a professional detachment. Harry took a deep breath, looking at the four people he loved most in the world (other than his three children).

"It took me to the Realm of the Dead." He told them.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry for the super late update, and happy Easter for last weekend! The weather was amazing in the UK last weekend so I spent the whole bank holiday weekend outside so just didn't get around to writing! Thanks for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter and thanks for everyone favouriting / following my story. You guys are the best! :)**

**The flashback scene was from the fourth book, after Harry's name came out of the goblet of fire and is before and after the first task with the Horntail. I rewrote this so many times trying to get it right, and hopefully I picked the right version. **

**It plays on how Moody (or Barty Crouch Jr.) cleverly manipulates the students into helping Harry - he knew to put Rolf and Pepper together as Cedric would obviously ask the magical creatures expert how to get past the dragon. Since, like his grandfather, he doesn't take sides, he would have also volunteered to tell Pepper exactly the same information: Dragon's like to chase things. In the end, Cedric (as in the books) got past the dragon by transfiguring a rock into a goat, and Harry used his broom. I think this is better than Moody just asking him directly because, first, Harry would be wondering how Moody knew Harry knew about the dragons and wonder why he was telling him. Hopefully that makes sense! **

**I see Rolf as an adorable combination of a young Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmane) and Pike from Dad's Army (hence why he always wears a scarf). He's going to come up in the next couple of chapters as well... because I'm a little bit in love him. This fourth year is, of course, the year that no one has a hair cut which is why I've given his shoulder length blond curls.**

**There are a couple of magical creatures hidden in the flashbacks of this chapter that also relate to the MCU. Because I like guessing games I'll let you guys have a think and see if you can get them - one is easier than the other. Let me know if you want a hint!**

**This chapter isn't my favourite, but it feels like it had to be there just as another transition between her muggle life and her Wizarding life. In the seventh book, the Weasleys were all very welcoming of Percy when he came back into the family in the seventh book, and I think it would have been the same with Pepper. I like to think they all understood why she left so there wouldn't be any lasting animosity. It would also be extremely hectic as she has around two minutes to catch up on the lives of nine people! The short conversation she had between Hermione's kids was based upon the kids from the TV show **_Outnumbered._** I definitely see Ben when I write Hugo.**

**The next couple of chapters are where it gets a bit more exciting. I'm telling them from Harry's perspective, so you'll find out exactly what happened to him on his mission and get more of an insight on how this relates to the MCU. But if anyone has any theories, I'd be really interested to hear them!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading :)**


	8. Harry Potter and the Sokovian Caverns

**Update:**

**I've gotten a lot of reviews about these chapters saying they deviate from the plot. They will be relevant to future plot lines so I don't want to change them completely but I've modified them so they're from Pepper's perspective, looking into her brother's pensieve. The story is the same but I hope you prefer this layout. If you don't, I still have a copy of the old ones so I'd be happy to change it back if people prefer that version. This should also hopefully answer a few questions Pepper's magical skills as well.**

* * *

"It took me to the Realm of the Dead."

When she first heard this sentence leave her brother's mouth, Pepper felt a sudden urge to laugh. Indeed, a chuckle bubbled up through her lungs all the way to her mouth; however, she was the only one smiling. It was obviously some ridiculous jest cooked up by the lighter, more carefree version her her big brother lying in front of her...

Yet no one else cracked even an awkward smile.

The hospital room fell deadly quiet, so much so that the sound of Hermione's ink pot and enchanted quill falling on the floor felt like the equivalent to a bomb being dropped. None of the wizards made any move to clean up the mess.

"Scorgify." Pepper whispered, directing the tip of her wand at the ink stained floor. She flushed red as a single bubble popped out of the end of her dusty, unused wand. After eighteen years, she couldn't even perform the simplest spells. Just as she began to feel like coming back into the magical world had been the worst mistake in her life, the minister for magic spoke, in a voice that sounded extraordinarily patronising.

"Harry, you have to realise how ludicrous that sounds."

Ron nodded in agreement. It was perhaps the first time Pepper had seen them agree on something since she'd been reunited with the pair of them. Every cloud had a silver lining, she thought darkly.

"I know how it sounds Hermione." Harry snapped irritably, rolling his eyes, "but I'm being serious, it took me to the Realm of the Dead."

"Could this have something to do with the Deathly Hallows?" Ron whispered, his eyes wide with an emotion that seemed to be half way between excitement and extreme worry.

"Seeing as the resurrection stone is lost and Harry's been disarmed at least a thousand times since the battle of Hogwarts, I highly doubt it." Hermione's frustrated, condescending tone, made her husband grind his teeth irritably.

"Sorry Ron, but Hermione's right. If anyone's the master of the Elder Wand now, it's Shacklebolt." Harry admitted, apologetically.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt?" Pepper asked, frowning in confusion.

"No, his niece, Letitia." Harry explained. "She's the best duellers who ever graduated from the Auror Academy, and the second on my team." Pepper nodded slowly. Although she had probably lost the right to question her big brother's dangerous lifestyle, an all to familiar desire to protect and worry about him began to overwhelm her system. He was an Auror. According to Mad-Eye Moody, you very rarely met and old Auror; therefore they needed a second, to take over when the team leader died. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't be unwelcome.

"If it's not the Hallows, tell us what you mean." Pepper said, her voice not as soft and gentle as she would have liked it to be, but it was not unkind either. "We'll be here for you, no matter what."

"I'll hold you to that, baby sister." The grin came easy on Harry's scared, bearded face as he raced over to squeeze her perfectly manicured hands with his own, rough, calloused fingers. "But I don't need to tell you." He said, "I can show you."

In one swift, well practised movement, he placed his wand to his temple and pulled out four, silvery strands and placed them in the pensieve beside his bed.

"If you could sign these non-disclosure agreements." Hermione said, placing long sheets of parchment before Ginny and Pepper. Pepper paused before signing, remembering the damage Hermione had done to the face of Marietta Edgecombe after she ratted out the DA. Now Hermione had become even more powerful, Pepper did not want to imagine the penalty if she broke her word on this agreement. Was she even so desperate to sign anyway? One glance at her brother compelled her to sign; she'd come too far to walk away now.

"Let's take a walk down memory lane." Harry smiled, placing the pensieve on his lap. Pepper took a deep breath, before lowering her face towards it, telling herself that the memories couldn't hurt her.

* * *

It was the strangest feeling being able so see the wind whip the hair and clothes of the seven people in front of them and hear it howl, but not be able to feel it all. It was like standing in an interactive video game, only far more disturbing.

"The weather was much better than this the day you left." Hermione commented, squinting up at the dark sky. Harry, the present day Harry, grinned sheepishly as he walked to the minister's side. Outside the pensieve, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand, let alone walk, however, here in his memories, he could walk, run, or even do the Irish jig painlessly and gracefully. Pepper hoped he wouldn't suddenly break out into a dance though; he was still wearing his hospital gown.

"I was just annoyed at my team. I guess that irritation has influenced the weather, making it seem worse..." He nodded to the group of people standing a few meters in front of them. Pepper could just about make out the jet black hair and small, skinny figure of the memory version of her big brother, standing the huddle on the edge of the cliffs of Dover. "Normally, I start each mission with an excited expectation of the journey. Each case comes with its own mystery and intrigue that never, ever bores me... but this time, we were straying into the muggle world and... look at them."

"Seriously?" Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Before judging them, you might want to take a look at what you're wearing first!" The tone she'd used had been the one she'd always used in the past when she was telling him off; at the Yule ball, she'd used that voice to tell him to stop staring at Cho and focus of Parvati. She hadn't expected it would make her brother laugh loudly as he waved his wand wordlessly over his hospital gown, transforming it into the hiking outfit his past self had worn... or was wearing. (Pepper wasn't a hundred present sure what tense she should use inside the memory). Perhaps they had a chance to claw back their old relationship... then her mind flickered, as it often did, to Tony. She bit her lip to try and stop the overwhelming feeling of sadness from engulfing her as she, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron walked through Harry's memory.

As they neared the team of Aurors, Pepper started to understand what Harry meant. Having had very little exposure to the muggle world, the pure bloods hadn't dressed in outfits that would allow them to blend into Eastern Europe. Perhaps the least radical outfit was worn by a tall woman, who's blond hair was drawn back into a tight bun underneath a black beret. She had coupled this with a black and white striped shirt, and had a ring of garlic hanging around her neck. When she turned, Pepper was surprised to see a small, curled moustache sitting upon her top lip.

"That's Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's little sister." Harry said, following Peppers gaze. The beautiful woman looked very little like the small, pretty girl she'd once helped to fish out of the black lake during the tri-wizard tournament. "And beside her is Ianto Jones, our resident Welshman." The man Harry identified as Ianto wore such a fine three piece suit, the Pepper was willing to bet even Tony would be jealous of it. On the edge of the group stood a man she recognised instantly from her school days; Rolf Scamander, the boy she had spent many blustery winter afternoons tending to magical creatures with, wore a frilly, summer frock that apparently his wife, Luna had promised him was perfectly normal garb for a man.

"Is that Padma Patil? In the lime green robes?" She remembered the Ravenclaw Patil twin from her common room. Pepper hadn't known her very well, the girl always seemed to have her nose buried in a book.

"She still hasn't forgiven me for acting like a tosser at the Yule ball." Ron muttered darkly.

"I still haven't forgiven you." Hermione rolled her eyes, her ink pot and pen hovered at her shoulder, mimicking her every movement. "And I married you!"

"And I love you too." Ron said, sarcastically. "The scary looking one one in tribal dress is Letitia Shacklebolt."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "That's really rude! You shouldn't talk about people like that."

"She's carrying a bloody spear, Hermione!"

"It's from Wakanda." Pepper said, ignoring their lover's quarrel. "That's the traditional dress of the Dora Milaje, their army. They're some of the best warriors on the planet... obviously I'm not including drone warfare..." Her voice trailed off as she realised the others were looking at her with utterly blank expressions. "I've spent too much time in meetings about modern muggle warfare."

"I'll make a note to talk to you about that when this is all over." Hermione said; whether she was talking to the floating quill, or to Pepper, she wasn't sure.

In reality, it had taken hours for Harry and Dennis Creevey, the stocky, sandy haired, younger brother of Dennis Creevey convince the others that normal muggles hiking across mainland Europe would wear hiking trousers, hiking sticks, back packs containing tents and food and would not be carrying a surfboard under their arm. However, in the pensieve, the conversation was over in a matter of minutes. They watched as Harry's team team set off, all seven members of the team were grumpy, tired and really not looking forward to the week long broom journey from London to Sokovia.

Pepper was ashamed to admit, she had known very little about Sokovia before the disaster of twenty fifteen, and her Wizarding friends knew even less. However, on the summer's day back in 2015, Wizards and muggles alike couldn't have failed to notice the capital city of Sokovia literally being ripped from the earth and levitated miles above the surface of the planet as Ultron, her own boyfriend's creation, plotted to wipe out all human life from earth.

"I was on a conference when it happened." Pepper said, when Hermione asked. "Else, I could have beaten some sense into him before he started trying to build the goddamn artificial intelligence."

"Have you given any thought to what he'd going to do while you're away this time?" Ron grinned, jokily. With one expression, Pepper wiped the smile off his face.

"Don't even joke about that." She snarled, before looking back at Hermione and Ginny. "What happened in the Wizarding world when the city was... you know-"

"Well..." Hermione said, before Pepper had even finished her sentence. "The whole International Confederation of Wizards spend critical hours trying to figure out whether the disaster was caused was some rogue Dark Wizards planning on the mass extinction of muggles. Of course, they blamed the dark Lord Engelburt, who'd always been able to mask his magic as natural disasters; like earthquakes and volcano eruptions. However, he died back in 2012 when he was on the run from Harry and his team.

"When Wizard authorities eventually discovered the disaster had been caused by muggle technology, my muggle studies bill was finally passed. It made Muggle Studies a compulsory subject at Hogwarts and introduced refresher courses throughout the Ministry for Magic." Hermione told them, barely taking a breath in between her sentences. "It's the first time since the seventeenth century since muggles have been perceived as a serious threat and none more so than the Avengers. A union of super-muggles receiving no boundaries from their government. Their leader was a self proclaimed uncontrollable, billionaire, playboy, genius by the name of Tony Stark."

"Annnnd, that's the man you're dating?" Ron asked, incredulously. "I'm not sure he's good enough for my brother-in-law's baby sister."

"I need your approval even less than I need my big brother's." Pepper told him, with mock-sternness. "This is the twenty first century, I am not, and never have been, any man's to give away."

"Harry..." Ron started to protest.

"Don't involve me in this!" Harry grinned. "I just want you to be happy, Pepper... and if expensive clothes, a billionaire boyfriend and a fake, American accent is what it takes to make you smile, I'm fully on board." His light hearted words held a surprising amount of painful truth that, for now at least, Pepper decided to ignore. She was too busy trying to stop herself from figuring out whether she'd still actually had a boyfriend.

Instead, she focused her attention on the cartoon, crude drawing of herself depicted on the fifteen foot tall, concrete wall right in the heart of Sokovia, where the city used to reside. Beside her stood even poorer depictions of the avengers coupled with captions like 'fascists' and 'warmongers'. They'd even added a Nazi swastika to Captain America's shield; the ultimate insult for a man who'd given his life fighting dictatorships.. We should have done more to help them rebuild. Pepper thought, ashamed. However, she generally couldn't think of more they could have done; Stark industries had pledged millions for food, shelter, medicine, even helped to clear the rubble with Tony's crudely named 'iron legion'. No amount of money would never be enough.

Distracting herself from her woes, she allowed her mind to wonder to what would be behind that monstrous wall. Local's just referred to it was '_yama_' which translated as '_the pit_'

The congealed blood of near-suicidal muggles, desperate to get a selfie with the pit, was laced in the barbed wire atop the wall. However, the only people who had seen the inside, were the security guards glaring menacingly down at them from their watch towers.

"_Muggle security's tight, boss_." An unfamiliar, enthusiastic voice rang out through the crowd, making Pepper jump. She turned to see the memory version of her brother standing along side his team. The sandy haired man, Dennis Creevey, was the one who had spoken. Dennis wasn't the youngest member of his team, Harry had explained, but, more often than not, it felt like the boy was. He had an amazing optimistic enthusiasm for almost everything, such that you wouldn't expect for a boy who had lost his older brother at such a young age. Despite his puppyish personality, he was an expert on muggle culture and security and such knowledge was invaluable for the rest of the team. "_Twenty four hour patrols, CCTV camera's literally everywhere plus all the tourists and locals crowding around the place taking photos and filming. There's no way we'll be able to get in unobserved, until it's dark... although security will be tighter at night..._"

"_To be honest, sir, I think we should head down now in a minute_." Ianto interjected. "If we hang around too long, the Sokovian ministry will likely get wind of our illicit activities." He was right; although it would be extremely tricky avoid muggle camera's with a half decent distraction, it would be much harder to avoid the foreign government.

"_We just need a distraction._" Harry pondered. "_Any ideas? Rolf, you don't need to raise your hand..._"

In his embarrassment, blood fled to the poor man's freckled face, causing it to turn an alarming shade of bright red.

"_We, um, we might be able to obtain a Niffler._" He told them, fidgeting as he grew uncomfortable with everyone's gaze upon him. Pepper had only heard of a Niffler one lunch time from Ron, who was completely besotted with the little, mole-like marsupials. Like a crow, they had a strange compulsion to horde anything that glittered in their little pouch, and were able to beaver their way through any nook or cranny.

"_Where ever will we get a Niffler from?_" Letitia asked with a tone Pepper thought was sarcasm, but couldn't quite tell. Everyone else looked directly at the briefcase Rolf's grandfather had given him for his seventeenth birthday that they suspected was teeming with magical creatures, held inside by a series of immensely complicated enlargement and environmental charms.

After ducking into an empty alley, Rolf re-emerged with a struggling, rather fat Niffler cliches in his hands.

"_It's alright._" He grinned, more comfortable talking to the Niffler than he was talking to any adult. He tickled the belly gently, causing a few golden galleons to trickle from its pouch. With a simple flick of her wand, Padma collected the coins for Rolf. "_Now I'm going to let you go out and play in the street, but you have to promise you'll come back when I call you, ok?_" The little creature let out a few barely audible squeals, the for come reason caused Rolf to sigh with a mother-like despair before letting the indignant Niffler loose.

"_He's not going to come back is he?_" Harry asked, sceptically raising his eyebrows.

"_Well, we can hope._" Rolf admitted sheepishly. "_Luckily, moments like this were what_ 'accio' _was invented for._" He chuckled for a few moments at his own joke, before tapping himself over the head with his wand.

In the blink of an eye, the man's long, blue trench coat, mustard coloured scarf and odd shoes completely disappeared as his disillusionment charm kicked in. Looking around at the others, Pepper realised that every single member of the group were blending perfectly into the background. If they waved, or made a sudden movement, she could just about make out the shapes of their bodies; the way Gabrielle flicked her hair over her shoulder gave her away, and Dennis's constant fidgeting made him easy to spot. The muggles however, didn't seem to notice. Pepper was suddenly reminded of the wise words Stan Shunpike had told herself and her brother, back when they were on the night bus for the first time; 'muggles don't see niffink'.

The memory version of Harry grimaced as he tapped his own forehead with his wand and disappeared into the background. Pepper shared the same distaste for the disillusionment charm; it gave the receiver of the charm the cringe-worthy feeling of having an egg cracked over their head.

The memory faded and, all of a sudden, Pepper and the others found themselves suspended in mid air. Her stomach twisted in somersaults as the seven Aurors stared down into the gaping obis that was the pit. Even though she was not actually in Sokovia, Pepper felt a burning desire to go in any direction other than down into the pit. It wasn't just vertigo taking; she wasn't afraid of heights. She could stand comfortably on top of Stark Tower (or the Avengers tower as they now called it) and stare down into the street below without the slightest worry.

Even in the memory, she could feel some strange, unnatural warmth being emitted from the pit, as if something large and lethal was living down there. Harry didn't die. She told herself. He survived. Even as these thoughts popped into her head, she remembered Malfoy's words; he'd told her they'd found a body of one of Harry's team mates. One of these brave Aurors, was about to die... and Harry had led them straight into the jaws of death.

"_Do you think that goes all the way down to the centre of the earth?_" Dennis's excited voice made her almost jump out of her skin. "_Hey Harry, do you think there's a T-Rex down there?_"

"_Show some respect._" Padma growled. "_People have died here._"

At Hogwarts, Harry had been a Gryffindor. His courage had always allowed him to survive some of the most terrifying adventures that he had turned to some of the most phantasmagorical bedtime stories for his children. Never before had he felt such a strong urge to retreat. However, He had no choice but to fill his brain with false bravado, and fly lower, ignoring his irrational fears and, instead, focusing on using his seekers eyes to try and spot the entrance to the fabled caverns of Sokovia.

"_Three hundred yards down._" He shouted to the others, before whispering "_point me_" to his wand. It spun around so it was north, "_South West. Now, when we enter, we need to be on guard, we don't know what's down there, so no heroics-_" Padma cut him off with a loud scoff. Back at school he'd been known for his ridiculous heroics. "_Shacklebolt and I will go in first, when we send out green sparks, Jones and Patil follow us in, more green sparks, Scamander, Delacour and Creevey. If we send out red sparks, approach with caution and expect a fight._" Harry had given the very same speech on their first mission together and, by some stroke of luck, it had never failed them whenever venturing into the unknown.

The memory changed once more, and Pepper found herself standing at the gaping mouth to the complex system of caves. The entrance to the tunnels was so dark, that a threat could have been ten foot away and neither of them would have known. There was something about the darkness that made her feel like it wasn't safe to venture in; no human, witch, wizard or muggle who had entered, had ever reemerged. Was it magical wards that made her want to turn and run? Or was that just her gut instinct?

"You were right about Shacklebolt." Harry said, his voice sounding sad. "In that she's from Wakanda. She was the only Witch hidden within the king's security detail, charged with protecting the king, his family and the palace. She'd never had to reveal herself, nor had she ever failed."

"Why did she leave?" Pepper asked, curiously.

"That's the million galleon question." Harry chuckled. "But she's talented and loyal, she always does what she thinks is right... and she loves this team. By now, she should have her own team; Hermione even offered her one, bit Letitia was happy with us. Of course she never shows it... she never really shows any emotions. She's impossible to read."

"_Lumos maxima!_" Harry, the memory version of Harry, cast the spell, sending an enormous bright light whizzing from the end of the wand and exposing whatever threat lay beyond the threshold. There was nothing.

"_This place is cursed._" Letitia told him, in her usual, monotone, expressionless voice that could be interpreted as either sarcasm or seriousness. "Potter, I worry we will lose somebody."

"_I always worry about that._" Harry admitted. "_Do you think we should turn back?_"

"_The minister will send more and they will be slaughtered._" She told him, after a moments thought. "_We have the best chance of making it out alive... for the greater good we ought to proceed._"

"_I don't believe in doing things in aid of the greater good._" Harry told her instantly, walking back to the entrance and sending up green sparks.

Harry had once told her of his final, and perhaps imaginary conversation with Dumbledore after Voldemort had hit Harry with the killing curse for the second time. Grindelwald had corrupted the young, impressionable Dumbledore by appealing to his secret belief that he was more powerful and therefore better than others. They spoke often about killing perhaps hundreds of people for the 'greater good'. Harry would never dare make the same mistake.

"_However, in this case you're right._" He had to admit. Letitia nodded approvingly, placing a shrinking charm on their brooms just as Ianto and Padma landed, closely followed by the other three (Rolf had the Niffler in hand, and magically sent the contents of its pouch back over the wall).

"_This is awesome!_" Dennis grinned with a youthful enthusiasm that none of the others were feeling.

"_Dennis, this is not the time._" Padma snapped him a hushed tone, giving the caves the respect they seemed to demand. "_I'm guessing this won't work, but..._ Accio Artefact." Five minutes or so past with all seven adults waiting with bated breath as nothing happened. The only things Pepper had known not to respond to the summoning charms were Horcruxes, the sword of Gryffindor and Harry's invisibility cloak. All were powerfully magical objects, just as Malfoy had theorised the artefact would be. The group fell into another uncomfortable silence.

"_It was worth a try._" Harry told her kindly. "_Jones, I want you up front with me. You're the only one who was able to make sense of those old maps the minister gave us... Scamander, I want you behind Jones in case we meet a giant rat or ware-worms or something. followed by Patil, we might be needing your healing skills. Then Creevey, Delacour and Shacklebolt, I need you at the back in case anything comes up from behind. Everyone happy?_"

"_Yes boss!_" Dennis grinned widely; he was the only one who spoke, the others all nodded sombrely, squinting worriedly ahead.

Pepper wished she could reassure herself that, as long as the Aurors did as they'd been trained, they'd all be alright. In the few minutes she'd been exposed to the memory, she could feel the love and trust Harry placed in each one of his team. However, the moment they began to walk, he felt a strange chill in the otherwise, warm caves. Perhaps Letitia was right. Perhaps this place was cursed.

* * *

**Authors Note:**

**So I've had a lot of people saying they haven't really liked the first version of these chapters - this is a rewrite where Pepper is kinda watching Harry's story through a pensieve with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. I still have the old versions, so if people prefer the old ones or finds this too confusing I'd be happy to change it back! There are two versions of Harry, but you can tell the difference between the memory Harry and the present day Harry by the italic speech. **

**I've made this a lot shorter - so I've taken out the mention of the Wilddeoren and hopefully given Harry's team a better introduction than in the last chapter.**

**Also, in the last chapter I asked if anyone had any idea which magical beasts I'd combined with alien species from the MCU. The first is Groot is a Bowtruckle (well done goldenfightergirl for guessing this!) I really like this one as, in fantastic beasts, Newt's Bowtruckle was able to extend its branches to pick locks or pick up items, similar to Groot. I just think that Alien planets would have the right conditions for a Bowtruckle (or at least a species of bowtruckle) to become an actual tree.**

**The second creature is a Flerkin - if you've seen Captain Marvel you know what this is. I think it would make sense for Crookshanks to be a Flerkin as he somehow knows that Sirius and Pettigrew are in fact humans, and he's the only cat in the whole of Hogwarts who seems to know this. He communicates with people in the books as well, like when Ron asked him to confirm that Pigwigeon was actually an owl.**

** Initially, it was just going to be one chapter, but then I got more and more ideas and there are going to be three more (or three more as the next one is growing rapidly as I'm really enjoying writing it). In the last chapter, there was a bit on an introduction of Rolf (who I picture as Eddie Redmayne from Fantastic Beasts. I couldn't resist keeping him in this chapter as well as the resident expert on fantastic beasts in Harry's team. The rest of the team is made up of Ianto Jones, who is essentially Ianto from Torchwood (although there are no other references to Torchwood in the story - I just love the character and I live in Wales so it needed a Welsh person in). Ianto is a Welsh name pronounced Yan-toe, if you haven't watched Torchwood. I imagine him to be a distant relative of Hestia Jones, who is a member of the order of the phoenix.**

**Letitia Shacklebolt I see as a mix between Rosa and Captain Holt from Brooklyn 99. I don't really have a clear image in my head of Padma or Gabrielle though. I want Padma Patil (the healer) to be the most normal person in the group, who get's scared and grumpy when a normal person would. Gabrielle Delacour is Fleur's little sister. I didn't really like in the book how Fleur, who was brave and talented enough to enter the tri-wizard tournament, ended up as a housewife. I would like to think her little sister ended up doing more, especially in the movie where you see Gabrielle performing amazing acrobatics in the great hall. **

**The movies didn't say much about what happened in Sokovia after the incident with Ultron, so I thought something like a huge wall to keep people out. I can also imagine people going to ridiculous lengths to try and find out what's inside or take selfies. **

**Thanks for reading and thanks for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this chapter x**


	9. The Sokovian Caverns Part 2

**Update:**

**I've gotten a lot of reviews about these chapters saying they deviate from the plot. They will be relevant to future plot lines so I don't want to change them completely but I've modified them so they're from Pepper's perspective, looking into her brother's pensieve. The story is the same but I hope you prefer this layout. If you don't, I still have a copy of the old ones so I'd be happy to change it back if people prefer that version.**

* * *

In reality, it had taken the team of Aurors hours to navigate their way through the first level of caverns, with numerous stops and moments when the team's navigator, Ianto Jones, lead them down dead end tunnels. As Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Pepper and Ron watched their journey in the pensieve, the inconsequential hours passed in a matter of moments.

It was important for his family to know that the number of times they wondered down an incorrect tunnel was not only Ianto's fault. The amount of literature that was actually useful for navigating their way through the tunnels was minimal and gave no insight as to what might be lurking in the tunnels. The team got their first hint of danger when they noticed almost invisible wisps of silvery silk swaying in the corners of the tunnels. As time passed, these few wisps became clumps that lined the walls and floor of the tunnels. The feet of the Aurors sunk deep into the soft, sticky material making it ten times harder to move through the tunnels. This, combined with the unnatural, intense heat, left them all drenched in sweat... all except Gabrielle Delacour of course; Veela's didn't sweat and, apparently, neither did half Veela's.

"_Zis ees like... walking on custard_." Gabrielle Delacour panted, as she, and the rest of the team paused briefly to catch their breath.

"_Walking on custard?_" Ianto Jones frowned. "_You mean wading through treacle!_"

"_But of course, you know I speak nineteen languages._" She told him irritably. "_I am bound to make a meestake occaseeonally. Better eet be in Engleesh instead of Gobbledygook, else we'd be keelled by Gobleens!_" She hadn't realised that as she spoke, a golden mist appeared around her face as she unconsciously switched on her Veela allure. Ianto's eyes had glazed over as he stared dreamily at her, not really taking in her angry words. Before he had a sexual harassment case to deal with, Harry cleared his throat loudly.

"_Rolf, mind telling us what all this stuff is?_" Harry asked, pointing to all the little stalactites and stalagmites (Harry had never found out the difference), made from the soft, sticky, white silk. Rolf crouched down and licked the floor in an animalistic fashion, making Padma and Gabrielle screw up thier faces in disgust.

"_It's a type of protein, similar to the sorts found in hair and nails... there's only one creature that creates silk like this._" The magical creatures expert glanced at Harry awkwardly. "_Spiders, in particular Acromantula._" The memory version of Harry scratched is scar to hide his nerves. Both Pepper and Hermione had been petrified when the family of Aragog, Hagrid's supposedly harmless pet Acromantula, had attempted to kill Harry and Ron in their second year. If a wild, flying Ford Anglia hadn't saved them, Harry highly doubted he'd be standing there that day... about to face yet another colony of giant spiders. There was no doubt the God of Irony wasn't laughing at him.

"_It's strange that they're down here, this species is native to Borneo... although there are rumours that Professor Hagrid was breeding them in the forbidden forest._" Rolf, chucking at the idea that a teacher would do anything that illegal and manage to keep his job. Harry avoided eye contact with Padma, not wanting to confirm Hagrid's guilt.

"_Now is not really the time or a care of magical creatures lesson._" Harry whispered. "_Right, a good spell for repelling Acromantula is Arania Exumai. Now let's try and keep our wits together and instead of fear, let's just feel relieved that Ron isn't here._"

As the group chuckled, Ron looked rather indignant his friend was mocking his irrational fear of spiders so casually with people who were supposed to be looking up to him. Despite both being Aurors, Harry had gotten the creme de la creme of assignments; full of mystery, intrigue and excitement. He didn't desire the glory and wealth that came with it, he never had. However, at each press release after Harry had caught another Dark Lord and Ron had caught a shabby looking wizard busking as a muggle magician or a witch who'd let a Niffler lose at Glastonbury, the secret green monster of jealousy grew a little inside Ron.

Unaware of his friend's feelings, Harry continued to lead his family after the larger group of Aurors. Pepper was stunned by how thick and dense the webbing became with every step; even shouting '_Bombarda'_ at the top of their lungs did little to clear the path. The only thing that seemed to cut thought the webs was an enchanted sword Padma's grandfather had given to her. They took it in turns to slash through the webs, however, most of the group were not used to so much physical activity. In two hours, they'd travelled about 200 yards.

At one point, Dennis became so entangled in the webs Harry had to physically cut him out with a knife that looked vaguely familiar. Upon closer inspection, Pepper identified it as the knife Sirius, Harry's late Godfather had given him. Sirius had always been polite to her, but they'd never been 'family' like he and Harry had been. Indeed, sometimes it seemed like he regarded Pepper in a cooler manner than Ginny and Hermione, despite being the daughter of his best friends. Two years after his untimely death, she found out why.

"_Strong stuff this._" Dennis grinned, enthusiasm untarnished as ever as Harry cut him free. The others grunted miserably in acknowledgement of his words.

"_In Wakanda, the people would deem you untrustworthy, with your inane optimism and irritating smile._" Letitia told him, bluntly. Her words were met with nods from the team as well as more enthusiastic grunts of agreement. "_You ought to stop wipe that grin off your face, knuckle down and work hard like the rest of us. Perhaps then you wouldn't get so caught up in the webs._"

"_Would you tell the sun to stop being so blue?_" Dennis winked, cheerfully.

"_Yes._" She shrugged. "_I wish it were tan._" It was impossible to tell whether she was joking.

"_Ooo-kay._" Harry stretched out the word awkwardly. "_Sorry to break up this... really strange discussion, but we have to keep moving. To be honest, I'm shocked we haven't seen a single Acromantula._"

He was right, Pepper thought, the Aurors had been extremely lucky not to see one. Just as the thought entered her head, she remembered taking to her brother in detail about his adventures his second year, in the summer between her first and second year. While twelve year old Harry and Ron had spoken with Aragog to try and gleam a shred of information about the chamber of secrets, other spiders drifted gracefully down from the trees, encircling them with an impenetrable mesh of webbing. The thought made her shiver.

"_I am not so sure we 'ave not seen one._" Gabrielle chuckled playfully, reaching into his messy, black hair and pulling out a tiny, wriggling black spider. "_Hmm, on second zoughts, per'aps 'e ees a fraction too small._"

The little spider took a suicidal looking leap from her hand, swinging gracefully to the floor where it ran along the floor and headed towards the wall. They lost sight of it as it blended into the pitch black wall... wait... had they? Pepper took a curious step closer to the wall and saw it was not black. The colour was an illusion created by hundreds of thousands of writhing bodies of tiny spiders that had been watching them from the tunnel walls and roof, like a high tech CCTV system on the doorstep to the Acromanula's nest.

The team had lingered too long.

"_We've got to get moving!_" Harry announced, a panic rising in his voice. "_Patil, Creevy and I will take point, followed by Jones and Shacklebolt, then Rolf and Gabrielle at the rear, everyone happy?_" The childish sounding chorus of out of sync 'yes's' that followed his words make him grin despite the seriousness of the situation. All seven Aurors instantly began packing up their rucksacks and stretching as if they were going on a hike up a mountain on a summers day. It was only when Ianto, who'd already packed up, stretched his tired legs that they were reminded of the dangers they faced.

"_I believe there's a small snag in the plan, sir._"

A strong feeling of dread filling him, Harry stood and looked in the same direction as Ianto. He was looking at yet another while wall, engulfed with webbing and teaming with black spiders. Something in his gut told him to turn around, so he did. After slowing rotating three hundred and sixty degrees Harry realised the snag. All their exits were were completely sealed by thick layers of impossibly strong webbing. It was impossible to tell what had once been a tunnel and what was the wall.

As they'd feared, Harry's nightmarish adventures from his second year had come back to haunt him. There was no way forward. No way back. All seven Aurors had unwittingly become encircled into a solid ring. This was the spider's domain... they must have known intruders had been advancing on their nest for hours. They'd played a long, waiting game but now had their pray surrounded, trapped. Ready to be slaughtered.

"_Harry!_" He heard Padma squeal. Looking back at his team, he saw all their eyes were pointed up at the ceiling.

Trickling through the mass of silk that engulf the ceiling and the walls, came impossibly large spiders. Their hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he stared at the terrifyingly graceful acrobatics show being held before his very eyes.

"_Defensive formations guys!_" Harry shouted. The others nodded, quickly running into the centre of the ring, back to back, wands pointing outwards. Padma held her enchanted sword in one hand, her wand in the other, both her knuckles had turned an alarming she of white. Dennis looked alarmed, but was humming the Indiana Jones sound track under his breath. Letitia looked completely neutral as always "_Hold for now, we don't want to initiate the fight if we don't have to._"

"_The fight has already been initiated._" Letitia snapped at him. "_I say we attack_."

"_Ees zat a bad joke?_" Gabrielle asked, incredulously. "_Zey would slaughter us, like shooting feesh in a pond!_"

"_Barrel._" Ianto corrected. "_Like shooting fish in a barrel._"

"_Ah, zat eez rideeculous! Why would feesh be in a barrel?_" She chuckled nervously to herself.

"_Can't fault that logic._" Harry allowed himself to grin. While others would scream and panic, his team were calmly arguing about the English language. It was clear from his eyes that he loved his team for their plucky attitudes, however, even he had to concede this wasn't the right time. Since the spiders had the power to slaughter them the instant the Aurors started fighting, Harry needed his team to be a unit, fighting and thinking as if they were one person. That was difficult however, with the number of strong, clashing personalities in his team... but they'd been though worse and survived.

The ground underneath their feet began to tremor as something ginormous approached them. The quakes became stronger and stronger, until each one caused a sonic boom to reverberate around the caverns.

"_What... is... this?_" A deep, melancholy voice caused goosebumps to spread throughout his body. From behind the curtain of webbing, a single, long, black hairy leg appeared. Then another. And another. Eight legged monster that eventually stood before them peered down at the seven puny humans with its eight eyes. It was almost twice the size of Aragog with pincers as big as Pepper, which clicked with a seemingly desperate hunger. She knew it was just a memory. She knew it couldn't hurt her. Yet, Pepper found her legs shaking like jelly as she stared up at the monster before her. Beside her, she heard Ron, cowering being Hermione, whimpering like a dog in a thunderstorm. "_Who dares to enter my realm?_"

"_We're searching for something._" Harry called politely. "_We've been lead to believe it's hidden in these tunnels._" None of the other Acromantula seemed to speak English, but, by they way they clicked their pincers in a cruel laugh, they understood it.

"_We know what you seek._" The largest spider told them, his voice grave. "_Many bipeds have come before you, none have survived._" He tweaked one of his eight legs, causing a fracture to appear in the webbing above their heads. Out of the newly formed gap, fell five skulls, silk laced between the holes where the nostrils, mouth and eyes were supposed to be. Despite being slightly fractured, there was no doubt they were human.

"_Cool!_" Dennis grinned.

"_You have serious issues._" Padma breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down from the panic that had engulfed her when the skulls clattered to the ground.

"_We do not scare so easily._" Letitia told the spider defiantly, ignoring her team mates. From the expressions of Ianto and Padma's faces, it was clear that they fervently disagreed with her thoughtless use of the word '_we_'.

"_That may be true._" The spider told them. "_But whether you are afraid or not, this will end the same way. Your skeletons will decorate the walls of our halls for millennia to come._"

"_I think not._" A smile, never before seen by the others appeared on Letitia's face as she raised her wand. "_I think it will be you-_"

"_Shacklebolt stop!_" Harry bellowed, before she did something stupid. "_That's an order!_" She didn't lower her wand or look away from the spiders but she stopped talking, listening attentively to the team leader. In the awkwardly silent seconds that followed, she made no attempt to use magic.

"_You bipeds._" The spider laughed, a sound that reverberated around the tunnels so loudly that it was a shock the roof didn't threaten to cave in. "Y_ou are all blinded by your lusts for power and goblin like greed. The so-called team you arrive with will fracture from the inside first, making our hunt that little bit easier._" The pincers of the spiders around them clicked together, in another chorus of laughter.

"_In Wakanda, we have a saying for times like this. A roaring lion kills no game._" Letitia snapped. Pepper could easily read the meaning behind the saying; standing around talking would not save their lives. Perhaps it wouldn't, but her gut told her that aggression would only make the situation worse.

"_You can't fight them all single handedly._" Harry told her, his voice low and urgent as he came to the same conclusion. "_There are too many._"

"'_Arry ees right_." Gabrielle murmured. "_As ze saying goes, you will attract more bees weez 'oney zan weez vinegar._"

"_Flies._" Ianto corrected her.

"_What do flies 'ave to do weez 'oney?_" Gabrielle asked incredulously.

"_Now is not the time to argue about idioms!_" Padma hissed desperately, as she hopped from one foot to the other.

"_Patil is correct._" Letitia nodded approvingly, "_Now is the time for action!_"

"_No, please listen to Gabrielle._" Rolf argued. "_Not about the idiom - Ianto was right about that. She's right about using charm rather than brute force in this case. Please, Letitia... Harry. Let me speak to him._" At school, Rolf had never looked Pepper, who was his closest friend, in the eye for longer than half a second or so. Even in the memory, eighteen years later, his eyes spent most of their time directed at his own mismatched shoes. At that moment, he stood taller than Pepper had ever seen him, staring straight into Letitia's dark eyes hat looked, in Pepper's opinion, like the opening of the pit.

"_Very well._" Letitia nodded once in submission, placing her expressionless mask back onto her face. "_You are the expert after all._"

"_Thank you._" Rolf muttered awkwardly, his eyes falling back to the floor as if he was embarrassed or ashamed of his actions. After fiddling with the striped scarf in Hufflepuff colours that hung around his neck (despite the humidity), he spun around so he was facing the largest spider, who had been listening to the Aurors exchange in amusement. "_Mighty Acromantula, as I'm sure you agree, my family and I will rue the day we set foot over your threshold._"

"_You are the first to try and win your lives with politeness._" The great spider's chuckle reverberated off the thick, stone walls of the tunnels. "I can assure you it, will be as effective as using violence."

"_I understand, O' King of Spiders._" Rolf bowed deeply. "_And you deserve to take pleasure in our deaths, since you thwarted our plan to steal the artefact. We were foolish to think we could ever outsmart you!_" It was safe to say that Rolf's methods were beginning to worry Pepper. She couldn't help but wonder whether Letitia had the right idea in this case. From the way the other Aurors were gripping their wands, (so tightly a few sparks flew from the ends), they were thinking the same thing. "_As you say we were blinded by our lust for power..._"

"_Ha!_" The spider laughed out loud, followed by another cruel chorus from his family.

"_May I ask, what is so amusing?_"

"_You sought something you heard had great power._" The spider said, "_as did my ancestors many years ago. They found, as you would have found, that alone it is worthless, powerless until paired with its sister. Even then, it can only lead you to power so great that no mortal creature, especially not a biped, can withstand or comprehend._"

"_If I may be so bold,_" Harry stepped forward, suddenly intrigued by the spider's words. "_What drew your noble ancestors to the caverns?_"

"_We were fleeing from the war._" The spider admitted, gravely. "_A long time ago, my family lived in a mighty forest, feasting on everything that wondered unknowingly into our nest. It was peaceful, a better time. Only when you biped went to war amongst yourselves, we were harried out of our home like dogs. Terrified, we ran towards a castle where we were attacked by more bipeds. We had no way forward, no way back. So we went underground with many other magical creatures. Hunted and persecuted wherever we went, we eventually sought power to overthrow the bipeds. Power that, rumour has it, was hidden in the caverns. I lost many family members searching for what you call the artefact, for there is something deeper in the caves. Something that also fought for the Lord of the Bipeds, but recognises no other allies. We found no power, but we stayed safe in the caverns feasting on pitiful insects power hungry travellers like yourselves._"

As the beast concluded his story, Pepper felt something she had not expected. She felt pity. The great battle between bipeds he'd spoken of had been the battle of Hogwarts. Pepper remembered seeing the horde of terrified Acromantula sprinting across the castle grounds. She remembered Hagrid's useless shouts as he tried to stop people hurting the spiders, and she remembered Colin Creevey's limp, lifeless body, slashed open by Acromantula fangs and drained of all blood, some webbing wrapped around his head.

When Pepper looked at Dennis, she saw the inane smile had finally dropped off the poor boy's face at the memory of his brother's body. The poor boy had only been thirteen years old. He'd who had worshipped his big brother. Now Dennis was a man, Pepper could see anger in his eyes as he looked into the eight eyes of his big brother's murderers.

"_You said another magical creature fled the war..._" Harry said quickly, trying to gleam as much information as he could before he lost control of his team.

"_You should rejoice you will not live to see them._"

"_Are they bipeds?_" Harry asked, frowning as he tried to figure out what would be waiting for them, if they ever got past the spiders. Both giants and werewolves fought on the side of Lord Voldemort, both had fled the battle. Pepper doubted that neither species would be a welcome sight in the lower levels of the caverns.

"_We know not._" The spider said, approaching Harry, each leg shaking the floor as they moved. "_Nobody knows what is under their hoods, except for their pray. Now, as much as I have enjoyed your final conversation, my family is becoming impatient with me. It is not good to play with your food for too long, lest it finds a way to worm its way free. I will say goodbye..._"

"_NOW!_" Harry bellowed, ignoring the last words the giant spiders would ever say to them.

The tunnel was filled with bright blue sparks and the painful screams of the spiders as six of the Aurors shouted "Arania Exumai" over and over again, blasting the spiders back away from them. The seventh Auror, Rolf, crouched in the middle as his fellows circled around him, trying to prise his old, battered brief case open. The small brown face of a Niffler poked itself out of the gap, a triumphant expression on its little face. Finally, it had freed itself! After glancing around the caves with its crow-like eyes, searching for something shiny, he realised his predicament, let out a little squeal, and disappeared back into the brown leather case.

"_Hurry Rolf!_" Harry bellowed as an Acromantula grabbed hold of him. The venomous fang ripped his hiking trousers and sunk easily into his leg. Dennis shot a spell at the Acromantula, basting it backwards and grabbing Harry around the chest. Harry's head was already starting to spin as the venom coursed through his veins.

The whole world went black.

* * *

**Authors Note:**

**Similar to the last chapter, I've rewritten this one with Pepper watching through a pensieve. It's half the size of the previous chapter as I;ve taken out a lot of things that I considered irrelevant. **

**Thanks also everyone who left such lovely reviews on the last chapter (and all the chapters before that). I love the person who left a review saying they imagined Rolf in the dress to be like Eddie Redmayne in 'the Danish Girl'. I hadn't thought about this when I wrote it, but I'm happy how it worked accidentally.**

**My thinking behind the team of Aurors was similar to Navy seals in that they'd go on missions in teams. Harry's in a team of seven Aurors since it's a magically significant number (the reason Voldemort chose to have seven Horcruxes). Initially I wasn't going to go into this much detail about the characters, but I think it's more interesting to give the team different roles and personalities rather them just being faceless Aurors who just follow Harry into dangerous situations.**

**Although these chapters are around Harry's adventures (it's become four chapters - I initially wasn't going to include the dialogue with the Acromantula and I'm quite enjoying writing these), Harry and Pepper will have lots of lovely brother-sister chapters after this. In the next chapter as well, you should see some of the reactions of Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Pepper as they're hearing Harry's story. Tony and the other avengers will also come into the story a bit later on. Please let me know if you have any constructive criticism - I'm always happy to have a chat to find way to make my writing and the story better! I also love hearing ideas for future chapters and any theories you may have.**

**The struggles Gabrielle has with English idioms, I've copied from NCIS, similar to Ziva's struggles when she first moved to America. Also, I also borrowed what is perhaps my favourite quite from Brooklyn 99: "Would you tell the sky to stop being so blue?" "Yes, I wish it were tan." Rolf's dialogue with the Acromantula was inspired by Bilbo's chats with Smaug in the hobbit (with the over the top compliments). I don't own any of these, but I think they add something nice to the story line and help to develop the characters a bit.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	10. The Sokovian Caverns Part 3

**Update:**

**I've gotten a lot of reviews about these chapters saying they deviate from the plot. They will be relevant to future plot lines so I don't want to change them completely but I've modified them so they're from Pepper's perspective, looking into her brother's pensieve. The story is the same but I hope you prefer this layout. If you don't, I still have a copy of the old ones so I'd be happy to change it back if people prefer that version.**

* * *

The memory changed so suddenly and unexpectedly, that Pepper was thrown unwillingly into a state of pure dizziness and befuddlement that undoubtedly was the result of standing inside the memory of a confused and drug addled individual.

Indeed, she found herself in something that vaguely resembled an art gallery. The walls were bright and clean, and blurry figures of people milled around taking in the single ginormous canvas of a multitude of intertwined brown hews. She cocked her head trying to figure out what all this meant; she had a passion for modern art and had spent years of her life and millions of Tony Stark's dollars building one of the largest and best collections. Harry on the other hand, had never had the time or the patience to appreciate art if it couldn't talk back to you. It was one of the only parallels she could draw between her brother and the Dursley's.

"Welcome to the view of me without my glasses on." The present day version of her brother said.

"Blimey Harry!" Ron exclaimed, "I forgot how bad your eyes were! I can't see a thing."

"Shut up, Ron!" Ginny growled at her older brother. "What happened back there?"

"I was bitten." Harry shrugged. "But of course, you already know that, otherwise, I wouldn't be in a hospital bed right now."

"Don't be a smart ass." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"I'm not. I'm being a smart _arse_." He winked jovially at her. When he didn't even get a smile from her or his friends, he sighed loudly. "See that blurry shape there? On the table? That's me. I'm just waking up, and the bright green moving blur beside me is Padma."

Pulling his wand from his back pocket, the blurry shape of the memory version Harry wordlessly summoned his glasses. The pair of circular, black rimmed spectacles flew to him instantly and tried to uncomfortably stuff themselves onto his face. Terrified his frames were about to poke his eyes out, Harry groaned in protest and grabbed them, delicately placing them over his eyes. Only then did the little store room the Aurors had sought refuge in become clear.

On one side of them, the wall was made of the same brown leather as Rolf's briefcase, and on the other side, an old fashioned, magically erected brick wall separated them from the large, illegal zoo. The walls were lined with book cases full of various leather bound books, scrolls and bottles filled with colourful liquids. In the centre of the room, a ladder could either lead you up to the outside world, or down into the illegal menagerie below. It was only when the whole world shook, that Pepper remembered they were inside a briefcase.

"_Wazzappened?_" When the memory version of Harry tried to speak properly, his words came out slurred and barely audible.

"I was in an awful lot of pain." Harry said. "The table Padma stuck me to was devilishly uncomfortable, so much so that I could actually count every one of my vertebra." Pepper winced at the thought, but said nothing. "Along with my back, there was an agonising pain in my leg, a dull ache in my head and a burning sensation in my throat... as if I'd just drunk a scolding hot bowl of vegetable soup extremely quickly. I believe the muggle phrase 'trampled by a raging horde of elephants' would be appropriate to describe how I felt." He paused, as if expecting them to laugh. When they didn't he shrugged, ploughing on with his story.

"After I was bitten, Dennis blasted the spider back and grabbed hold of me. He dragged me out of harms way and starting looking for somewhere safe to place for Padma to treat me while the others were fighting. Rolf's briefcase had been in the back of my mind as the perfect place to regroup. It's impenetrable; not even the ministry of magic could break through the reinforced dragon hide leather (and they'd tried on numerous occasions when Rolf's grandfather owned the case). When Dennis stuffed me through it, he didn't account for the ladder and I fell, explaining the pain in my head.

"Padma followed me down and shoved a bezoar down my throat to counteract the Acromantula venom, she then turned her attention to my leg. When Nagini bit Mr Weasley, you all saw how hard it was for a team of healers to try to quell the bleeding of a magical wound. I only had Padma and, well, she's worth a team of healers to be honest.

"The only problem was... well, one of the many problems was that Letitia and Dennis were spoiling for a fight with the Acromantula, and Letitia's my second. Luckily, Gabrielle could charm the birds from the trees and somehow convinced them both to follow Padma down. She held off the spiders while Ianto and Rolf got themselves to safety. When we were all inside the case our lives were no longer in immediate danger, our biggest problems were the earthquakes."

"Earthquakes?" Ron frowned. "What earthquakes?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Harry shrugged, pointing to the entrance way where his team of Aurors were walking through, all carrying empty buckets with their hands covered in blood from the raw meat they'd fed the magical creatures. When they saw the memory version of Harry was awake, their sombre expressions quickly changed to ones of excitement and enthusiasm. Before she had washed her hands, Gabrielle hurried over and planted a kiss on each cheek, leaving hand shaped blood-prints on his neck.

"_'Arry! Zank goodness you are alright!_" She beamed.

"_Of course I am, got the best team in the world._" Harry grinned, hiding his bewildered blush as he wiped his face with a handkerchief. Unfortunately for the present day Harry, Ginny didn't miss his reaction. She turned to him, arms folded across her chest, a stern expression on her face. Luckily, the memory version of Harry distracted her. "_Dennis, I hear I have you to thank for my dashing rescue, as well as curse you for the bump on my head._" Dennis's inane grin took on a sheepish quality as he stared down at his shoes. "_Right gang, we're not out of the woods yet. We're currently trapped in a briefcase surrounded by some of the most deadly creatures on the planet._"

Pepper wasn't entirely sure whether the creatures he referred to were inside the case or outside it. However, it became clear that Harry intended to overlook Rolf's illegal smuggling and breeding of magical creatures, as Dumbledore and the other Hogwarts teachers had once done for Hagrid. As if to remind him that the Acromantula was the biggest threat at that point in time, the entire ground beneath their feet began to quake.

Rolf was the first to react; he sprinted over to his shelves and spread his body out in an attempt to stop all his potions from smashing on the floor. In the few seconds that the shaking lasted, the bottles merely topped over. They all sighed in relief when it was over; Pepper had expected something much worse.

"_That wasn't so bad._" Dennis shrugged.

His words had the same effect as the saying 'at least it's not raining' or 'it can't get any worse', in that, the situation automatically became a hell of a lot worse.

Then they fell sideways in such a sudden, violent way that no amount of magic could stops Rolf's treasures falling over the floor. Too busy keeping himself away from the books flying around the room, Rolf didn't even seem to notice the mess. Since Harry had been glued to the table by Padma, he started to feel like he was on a particularly nasty rollercoaster, only with the added peril of being hit by something or someone.

"_It's alright!_" Rolf's gentle, soothing voice broke through the clamour and crashes as he desperately attempted to soothe a rogue Occamy that had broken into the little store room. "_Just calm, calm..._"

"_Deed you not zink to put any stabeelising charms on zis?!_" Gabrielle snapped, as the case stopped rolling around. They found themselves dangling upside down from the floor, knuckles turning red from the effort of holding themselves when the pull of gravity was too great.

"_It should have them... only my grandfather enchanted this back in the nineteen twenties so the spells might be getting to the point where they need updating..._" Rolf told him.

"_Gee, you think?!_" Padma glared at him.

"_That's enough!_" Harry shouted, in the same tone he used for disciplining his three kids. "_We're not going to get anywhere by turning on each other. As long as a Blast-Ended Skrewts doesn't come out of there I'm don't care..._" Suddenly the case was flipped once more, so they all had their feet firmly on the floor of the case. Ianto threw up so violently, he could have eaten a dozen puking pastels. "_This is dangerous, more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. If you want to go back on Rolf's spare port key, I won't blame you._"

Every one of his team mates exchanged long awkward glances, well, all except Ianto who was staring at his watch. It was he who eventually broke the silence.

"_Thirteen hours, forty seven minutes and twenty two seconds._" He announced as jovially as one could announce something after puking three times. "_I believe, Letitia wins the sweepstake._" Ianto grinned, handing her a small bag, jangling merrily as it was full of coins.

"_How come she always wins?_" Dennis rolled his eyes.

"_My family are seers. You would be a fool to bet against me._" Letitia told him, neutrally, pulling out a sickle and flicking it to Ianto. Harry watched the entire exchange with an amused bewilderment.

"_We all bet on how told it would take for you to try and convince us to turn back._" Padma told him, in a matter of fact type voice. "_It's rather shocking that you chose to say it now, especially since you can't actually walk._"

"_One day, you will feegure out zat we 'ave your back!_" Gabrielle rolled her eyes prettily.

Even in his first year, Harry had been shocked whenever Ron and Hermione had stayed with him, and he never, ever took them for granted. Unlike everyone standing around him, he hadn't been used to having a proper family. The ultimate goal of their upbringing at the Dursley's was to beat the magic out of them both; it had taken all of Pepper's strength to try and ensure Harry didn't drown in a feeling of worthlessness. Despite her efforts, eleven years of being beaten, verbally and mentally abused had scarred him so deeply, he was still shocked whenever someone stood by him.

Smiling, Pepper looked at Harry's six team members... no... six friends, and felt a strange emotion welling up inside her. They stood by him, not because it was their jobs but because they believed in him. She was so happy he'd found people like that to surround himself with. The memory version of Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing; his eyes welled up with tears making Padma squeeze his hand comfortingly as she help him into a sitting position, a small smile on her face.

The emotional journey Pepper was on was completely obscure to the others, in particularly, Hermione, who rounded on Harry, her hands on her hips.

"You shouldn't allow Letitia to bet!" She announced, furiously. "You know she has a G-A-M-B-L-I-N-G P-R-O-B-L-E-M!"

"Hermione we can all spell." Ginny told her, coolly. "There's no need to treat us like we're children... and besides, Shacklebolt is a grown adult. She can make her own choices about what to do with her money."

"Yeah. And it's hardly Harry's fault if they're doing the sweepstake behind his back, is it?" Ron asked; his question was supposed to be rhetorical but Hermione, as always had a perfectly crafted answer from him.

"Your team members are not supposed to be able to do these sorts of things behind the team leaders back Ronald. Harry should have known! Or have you forgotten what it says on page two hundred and eighty seven of the third guidebook on rules and regulations of leading a team of Aurors?"

The blank expression on Ron's face suggested that, not only did have have no idea what was on page two hundred and eighty seven of the third guidebook on rules and regulations of leading a team of Aurors, but also that he had no idea there was a third guidebook. Before he could did himself any further into the hole, he was rescued by a low, deep, starving, growl of someone's stomach.

The memory version of Harry was hungry; Pepper hadn't needed to hear the rumble to know that, it was written plainly on his face. He was tired as well; heaven knows how much blood he had lost. To make the situation even worse, he was trapped in a briefcase. As far as they could see, there was no way forward other than certain death. There was no way backwards without failure. If they failed, there was a risk of another getting their hands on the artefact (although part of Pepper believed the artefact would actually be safer here than anywhere in the ministry or Gringotts bank).

"_We need to rest._" Harry said, just as the spiders began playing 'piggy in the middle' with the briefcase. "_We need time to think of a plan... because right now, the only solution I can think of requires a dirty great snake..._"

"_What sort of snake?_" Rolf asked, eyes shining with excitement. Suddenly, Harry remembered that they were not only in a briefcase, they were in a zoo full of some of the rarest, most dangerous magical beasts.

"_A Basilisk._"

* * *

"Harry, no!" Once again, Hermione's furious exclamations interrupted the memory. Quick as a snake, she snatched the magical quill out of thin air to stop it writing. Ginny and Pepper exchanged baffled looks, half expecting Harry to drop dead due to the glare Hermione was giving him. "A Basilisk is a XXXXX creature!" Hermione snapped, in explanation of her outburst. "The breeding of Basilisks has been prohibited since medieval times... Ronald, what are you sniggering at!" Hermione turned her rabid fury on her husband.

"You just, um, sounded a little like Umbridge." He admitted slowly, watching as Hermione's nostrils flared in anger at the comment. "The whole 'breeding is prohibited' thing and having a go at Harry for a crime he hasn't even admitted to committing (yet). What happened to the woman I fell in love with, eh? The one who once told us how exciting it was to break the rules."

"That was one time!"

"It was a few more times than once." Harry grinned. "To name a few, there was the troll, the polyjuice potion, saving Sirius, kidnapping Rita Skeeter, starting the DA and helping me find Horcruxes." Hermione's gaze softened as Harry ticked off each of the times she'd broken the rules on his fingers.

"That was different. We were kids! And most of those times were life or death situations!"

"They were being juggled by bloody great spiders, Hermione!" Ron said, his mouth gaping at her like a bull frog. "If I'd been in that situation I'd have a chickens egg under a toad before you could say Quidditch!"

"Luckily we didn't need to do that." Harry chuckled to himself. "In their spare time, Rolf, Luna and their sons travel. More often than not, Rolf finds disabled or abused creatures to care for and eventually release into the wild. A few years back, he found a year old blind, deaf serpent and cared for it. He didn't realise it was a basilisk until it grew to be twenty foot long and by that time he'd become quite attached to it... it's completely harmless to people of course and actually has quite a sweet disposition. We just needed to get it out of the briefcase and use it to chase off the spiders, which it did with the help of a little parseltongue."

"I thought you lost your abilities when the Horcrux in your head was destroyed?" Ginny narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I did." Harry answered, a fraction too quickly. "Rolf's been learning it." Eager to avoid further questioning, Harry looked up at Hermione. "So... are we alright to proceed, minister?"

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Hermione thought deeply, her eyes showing the internal conflict raging within her. On one hand she wanted to excel at her job, follow the rules and lead the great British Wizarding community towards a 'better and brighter future by eliminating corrupt politicians from the Wizengamot'. On the other hand, she didn't want to send her best friend and his team to jail. In the end, she sighed loudly, shaking her head so vigorously that a few of her wild curls clawed their way loose from her bun.

"Go on then." She sighed, "I'll cover for you this time, but you need to have a disciplinary talk with Rolf!"

"You're the best, Hermione." Ron slapped her playfully on the back in the same friendly way he slapped Harry, George and Percy.

"I'm aware of that." She rolled her eyes, before releasing the struggling quill from her hands and flicking her wand it it. "So you and your team mates used daring cunning and ministry taught skills to get past the spiders. Then what happened?" The quill wrote down her every word, with, what looked like, a rather indignant look at Hermione, as if the quill understood she was bending the rules for her best friend.

The last thing Pepper saw before the memory changed, was the triumphant grin that was etched onto Harry's face.

* * *

Pepper knew what was waiting for them in the final level of the catacombs; the spiders had all but told them with one detail. 'Nobody knows what is under their hoods, except for their prey', Aragog's descendants had told him.

As the hike continued, the unnatural warmth of the caverns seemed to turn into an even less natural cold. Perfect ice crystals frosted the hair of each of the Aurors, making them frequently scratch their head as if they were covered in head lice. Every exhale was visible from the other end of the tunnel and almost make it look like they were following seven dragons as opposed to seven people.

As the cold increased, so did the number of arguments amongst the Aurors. The change was so gradual that Pepper almost didn't notice, however, her past experience with dementors allowed her to be more acute to their presence.

The main subject of arguments between the Aurors was Harry, or, most specifically, Harry's leg. The physical activity made his magical wound bleed even more, so they had to stop almost every half an hour to replace the bandages. It wasn't long before they were running extremely low. After many long, whispered arguments between Gabrielle, Rolf and Padma about his welfare, Padma began to wrap his wound with silk Gabrielle transfigured from the Acromantula web. This caused Harry's wound to start to emit a strong, putrid odour that made Pepper extremely relieved it wasn't so hot.

There was a point, when a small trail of ice began to glisten under their feet, that Harry stopped, allowing his team to plough on ahead. Pepper watched, curiously, as her brother closed his eyes lightly and breathed deeply. The world around them seemed to slow down, in her ears she heard the rapid beat of Harry's weakening heart. Then, he opened his eyes.

Pepper gasped as the Hogwarts Express appeared directly in front of them. It was not solid, like the rest of the memory, rather it was like a hologram. It was not a hallucination, she realised. It was a memory inside a memory.

In front of the hologram train, was the hologram of an eleven year old boy with messy jet back hair and knobbly knees. At first, Pepper wondered whether it was a memory of Harry's first day at Hogwarts, however, as the boy became clearer she saw that he had Ginny's warm hazel eyes and he didn't wear glasses. He was Harry's oldest son; James. According to Ginny, he also had the classic Weasley sense of humour and adoration of pranks of all shapes and size. When the time came for James to leave to go to Hogwarts, his jokes trailed off; the eleven year old stared nervously at the train then turned to the memory version of Harry.

_Love you dad._

The words echoed around the memory as the boy smile awkwardly at his father, his hands buried deeply in his pockets. That one exchange with his son, made Harry realise how truly lucky he was to be a father. The mere memory was powerful enough to allow him to create a corporeal patronus as easily as if it were a hovering charm.

The silvery stag burst from the tip of his wand, startling his team members, but arriving just in time to ward off a stray dementor roaming around the corner. Everyone's wide eyes turned nervously towards Harry; the expression they all shared showed they hadn't been paying enough attention.

"_Remember what Mad-eye would say; constant vigilance._" Harry reminded his team, painfully limping forward. "_Now, Padma and Rolf, I'd like you two to conjure patronuses to go ahead with my stag. Ianto, Dennis and Gabrielle, I want you to think about your happiest memories in case we have to fight. Letitia, transform if we see more than one dementor; they have less of an effect on transformed animagi._"

"_Do you think there will be many more out there?_" Ianto asked, his Welsh accent far stronger now he was nervous.

"_Yes, Ianto._" Harry murmured. "_I expect there will be a few more than one._"

If these dementors were indeed those who fled from the battle of Hogwarts, there would be thousands. Sometimes, when Pepper closed her eyes, she could see the dark, hooded figures gliding gracefully towards them, freezing the very ground beneath them. She remembered crying over Fred Weasley's dead body until there was nothing left inside her other than a dull ache. She doubted she could ever produce a corporeal patronus, not any more.

Focusing on the scene before her, Pepper watched as Padma's tiger patronus snapped playfully at the heels of Harry's stag. The great creatures lead the way, protectively, through the tunnels, with Rolf's penguin hippity-hopping behind them, desperate to keep up. Despite her bad memories, Pepper smiled. Just watching the creatures was enough to lift her spirits.

Whenever they stopped to redress the wound on Harry's leg, he also insisted they stop for a chocolate break. Gabrielle was the only one protesting, saying 'a moment on the hips is a lifetime on the lips'. She ate the chocolate anyway, if only to have an excuse to stop listening to Ianto correcting her.

The group fell into silence as they descended further into the caverns, and, instead of jokes, bickering and story telling, the air around them filled with a bone chilling rattling sound. The source of this became clear around the next corner where the tunnels opened up, revealing an enormous clearing, large enough to fit the new Avengers headquarters inside. Instead of the familiar dirt walls that lined the tunnels, this magnificent opening was lined with a thick layer of perfect ice. In the light of their wands, the ice seemed to glisten a thousand different colours beautifully... or at least, it should have been beautiful.

The beauty of the ice palace was tainted with tens of thousands of dementors. The rattling sound was coming from them as they floated in midair, their cloaked bodies staring straight at the Aurors, feeding desperately off their emotions. It was a song. A hunting song.

"_Patronuses everyone!_" Harry shouted needlessly. Gabrielle's dolphin patronus had already joined the other three, just as an excited Labrador puppy burst out of Dennis's wand and tripped over its own feet in its haste to join the others. The already odd group of animals were joined a few seconds later by Ianto's lumbering sheep patronus.

"_What now boss?_" Dennis asked excitedly.

Pepper stared around the hallway. All dementors knew they were there, but were giving the patronuses a wide birth. Every so often, one swooped down testing their defenders and almost instantly sprung away from them, as if they were burnt. In the past, the dementors had always fled from the patronuses; fled off into the night. But there was no where for them to go this time. As soon as he and his team stepped forward, the dementors would scatter. Trapped in this room, they'd float around, desperate to break through. In the confusion, one probably would. It would be like being in a tank filled with jelly fish, with only a hose pipe for protection.

"_The only way forward is straight through them._" Harry murmured. "_But we need to work intelligently, as a team, to herd them into a section of the cavern._"

"_And how exactly are we supposed to do that?_" Padma asked, pointedly. "_It's not like they are scared sheep (no offence Ianto). They want to feed on our souls!_"

"_If you have a better idea, Padma, I'd love to hear it._" Harry sighed, "_in fact, if anyone has a better idea please say. I can't see another way._"

"_'Arry ees right. Zere ees no alternative. We should just bite ze bullock and do eet._"

"_Bullet._" Ianto corrected her.

"_Oui, bite ze bullet._"

"_It'll be interesting to see what would happen if you bit a bullock though._" Dennis grinned.

"_Why don't you try it?_" Padma muttered darkly.

"_Guys, come on! Focus on being a team._" Harry ordered, he could feel the dementors getting under their skin. They had to move quickly. "_Gabrielle, Padma and I will use our patronuses to herd them away from us, we don't want them to scatter, we want to keep them in one shoal. Ianto, Dennis and Rolf, use yours to guard us against the dementors that stray from the pack._"

The girls nodded, flicking their wands and allowing their patronuses to encircle the dementors, gently nudging them away from the Aurors. Harry crossed the fingers on his left hand, and began to walk, his arm draped over Ianto's shoulders for support. Padma, Letitia and Rolf followed with Gabrielle and Dennis bringing up the rear.

On each of their faces, Pepper saw the same desperation; the desperation to sprint as fast as they could to the other side of the hall. However, the effort of keeping up the patronus charm was getting to them. Dennis's face was screwed up in exhausted concentration while Ianto was sweating profusely. The dementors made it harder. They engulfed the team in startling waves of misery and hopelessness, hacking away at the patronuses and feeding on their happy memories. Every single dementor was hungry. Starving. Desperate. And there were thousands.

Dennis was the first to crack. The silver puppy flickered and faded away as he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Pepper was surprised; out of everyone in the team, she hadn't expected Dennis with his unwavering cheerfulness to be overcome with bad memories first. Perhaps that was the problem; perhaps he was unable to process grief or hardship properly, and the inane smile was a mask that, now torn off by the dementors, had left both him and Gabrielle exposed.

The dolphin soured straight through the shoal of dementors straight towards Gabrielle, scattering them away from her and Dennis moments before they administered the kiss. Draining her strength further, Gabrielle hauled Dennis up in her air, half dragging him across the icy floor.

"_We've got to move faster!_" Harry bellowed, as thousands of the dementors lost their perfect, graceful formation and flew desperately down to the Aurors in random, unpredictable bursts. He could hardly see through the mass of black cloaks. He could smell nothing but death. "_Shacklebolt, Scamander, help Delacour and Creevy!_"

While the dolphin and penguin guarded the three people and animagus, Gabrielle and Rolf bundled a sobbing Dennis onto the Rhino's back while the young man continued to sob. Pepper heard the word 'Colin' over the screaming air and, when she looked at Harry's face, she saw nothing but guilt written across his features. The team reformed and ran as a random unit towards the other side of the hall. Ianto's patronus was the next to fail. Then Padma's. Then Rolf's. Just as they reached other other side of the cavern's Gabrielle's dolphin faded from view.

The Aurors bundled into the mouth of the tunnel, the shimmering stag was their only protection from the dementors. Harry stared out at the tangled mass of black cloaks, getting ready to shatter the ceiling so the dementors could not chase them. That was when he saw the bright red muggle coat that had belonged to Dennis lying on the back of the Rhino where Dennis should be.

"_Dennis._" He breathed. "_Where's Dennis?_"

The question was a waste of air as, when the dementors moved, he saw the sandy haired man sobbing on the floor a mere twenty foot away, a glistening orb being pulled from his mouth. His soul. The dementors, momentarily distracted from the other humans, swooped towards him desperately.

"_NO!_" Harry shouted, stepping forward.

But Letitia moved quicker. She transformed back into a human and pointed her wand straight at the dementors surrounding Dennis. Harry paused. According to Hermione, Letitia had never conjured a patronus before, but this felt like a moment in a superhero film where the protagonist pulls off what they thought was impossible at the very last moment; saving the day.

Only that didn't happen.

"_Avada Kadava._" She hissed, causing a bright green light to stream from the tip of her wand and engulf Dennis. Pepper felt her heart skip a beat. Her ears started to ring. Her throat closed up. All she could do was watch as the shimmering orb of light that had once been Dennis's soul, flicker out of existence before the dementors could feed. "_Accio Dennis!_" Letitia shouted. The man's limp body shot towards them, knocking over a dozen dementors like bowling balls before landing, limply at her feet. Letitia raised her wand to the ceiling. "_Bombarda!_"

As the ceiling fell in, blocking them off from the dementors, Harry's stag faded from view. Despite being safe from the monsters on the other side of the wall, he had never felt so unsafe in his life. Never before, had he been betrayed like that, nor had he expected any member of his team would do such a heinous act. The mere shock prevented him from ranting and raging at his supposed team mate and crying over Dennis's body.

"She killed him." Pepper breathed, her eyes wide with shock and wet with tears. She had not realised how much she had grown to like the young man, with his lovable, inappropriate jokes and inane cheeriness.

"She did." Harry, the present version sighed. He suddenly looked so much older and tireder, as if the pain of the leg injury and his loss had finally hit him.

"I'm so sorry, darling." Ginny whispered, taking Harry's rough calloused hand in hers. "I know how much you cared for him... and Colin." The tears in her eyes did not only contain grief however, they were filled with relief that the gods of death hadn't claimed Harry. Pepper knew this because she was selfishly thinking the same thing.

"_Better to die as yourself, than to live without a soul._" The Letitia stated, as calmly as if she was discussing the weather. As far as Pepper could see, her dark eyes were completely void of emotion.

"_Zat was not your call!_" In her anger, Gabrielle's bright blue eyes flashed a dangerous shade of scarlet. This was the same colour as the eyes of a Veela, Pepper recalled, remembering the Veela at the final of the Quidditch World Cup back when she was thirteen. Gabrielle's wand joined Padmas, both pointing at Letitia.

"_We could've saved him!_" Padma yelled.

"_That's enough._" Harry said quietly. Rolf, Ianto, Padma and Gabrielle turned to stare at him, their eyes full of so much hurt and confusion that they didn't need to speak, he already knew what they were thinking. Harry looked straight at Letitia. "We need to send his body back." His voice broke, showing the emotional roller coaster that lay behind his words. "_W-we can't leave him here._"

The words were the same as the ones he'd wept over Cedric Diggory's body at the tri-wizard tournament. However, it wasn't Cedric's body he was picturing, nor was it Dumbledore's, or Dobby's, or Fred's.

"_Do you remember when we met Neville's parents?_" Harry asked, his quiet voice sounding strained with emotion. It took a few moments for Pepper to realise it was her version of Harry talking, and not the memory. "_At St Mungo's?_" Ron and Hermione nodded, while Pepper and Ginny exchanged confused glances. "A_fter being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange during the first war against Voldemort, Frank and Alice Longbottom lost their minds, but were still living in St Mungo's. We were visiting Arthur, Mr Weasley, when we accidentally bumped into them. When I look at that scene, I picture the tortured expression on Neville's face when his mother handed him an empty wrapper of Drooble's Best Glowing Gum as a Christmas present._" A noise escaped his mouth that could have been a single laugh, but there was no humour or happiness behind it.

"_At the cost of her own soul, Letitia saved Dennis's. Do you thing Dennis and his family would take more comfort knowing he had a swift, merciful death and had passed over, than having to live in agony as empty shell of a person? Everything that had made him who who was, would have been ripped from him... but then I think of my parents. Of Sirius. Death was so very final, whereas life is filled with possibilities and potential; therefore, there would never be any justification to take a life._" He shook his head in despair. "_For my own sanity, I have to believe what she did was a heinous crime._"

As Ginny gently comforted her husband, Pepper watched Rolf rummage in his brief case for his spare port key, which was shaped like a common bull point pen. Not daring to speak, the memory version of Harry nodded his thanks, as Rolf dropped the pen into his outstretched hand. He then knelt down next to Dennis and pressed the pen between his clammy, stiff fingers.

"_Shacklebolt should go with him._" Padma muttered darkly. "_I don't want her around. We can't trust her!_"

"_What I did, I did for the greater good_."

"_Now tell me, why is it that, whenever a witch or wizard does something bad, they say it's for the greater good? I really want to know._" Harry murmured, talking to himself rather than to the others. However, they all heard. Letitia had no sorrowful words, indeed, she showed no emotion. "_Auror Shacklebolt, I'm going to have to formally request that you surrender your wand-_"

"_-you would punish me?_" Letitia interrupted. "_When I was the only one who respected him enough to give him a clean death!_"

"_There can be no excuses for taking a life!_" Harry told her, because that was what he'd believed since before he could walk. He could not allow his team to see how conflicted he truly was. The fury that bubbled through his veins was caused more by his internal struggle than her refusal to follow his command. His face turned as red as uncle Vernons used to as he bellowed: "_EXPELLIARMUS!_" The wand flew away from her and into his outstretched hand. His rising anger made his body feel strangely light and tingly. However, he ignored the sensation, choosing to focus on his fury. "_You are not God, Letitia! You do not get to choose who lives and who dies. You realise, we have to walk away now and think of something happy!_"

"_Sir!_" Ianto cut him off, his voice surprisingly sharp, however, once Harry had stopped shouting, his voice softened. "_Sorry to interrupt, but we only have two minutes before the port key leaves._" Two minutes to say goodbye. Harry took a deep breath, drawing courage for what he wanted, what he needed, to say to Dennis. However, it was Gabrielle that spoke first, her French accent made heavier by her tears.

"_Au revoir Dennees._" She smiled sadly, leaning down to kiss his forehead briefly. "_May you find 'appiness een 'ze next life. I will meess you._" She paused for a moment, before turning to Letitia; her blue eyes seemed paler, and were full of conflict. "_Weezout you, 'is soul would be een torment now. I am not saying what you deed was right, but I know you deed eet weez kind eententions. You 'ave a good 'eart._"

"_He is with his brother in the ancestral plane now_." Letitia murmured. "_We should take comfort in the fact t__hat he is at peace._" Gabrielle nodded stiffly at the woman, before stepping back, her eyes closed, head bent and hands clasped together, as if in prayer.

"_It won't be the same without you trying to make us smile._" Ianto whispered imitating Gabrielle's stance. "_Or at least, try to make us smile._"

"_You're one of the bravest people I know._" Rolf murmured. "_I'm proud to call you my friend._"

"_Dennis, the last time we spoke, I snapped at you. I wish I could take that back, and I hope you can forgive me._" Padma whispered.

A long pause followed her words as everyone looked to Harry. Pepper knew him well enough to know that he'd regret it for the rest of his life if he said nothing; this could be the last chance he'd ever have to say how he truly felt. Seconds ticked by as he built up the courage to speak his mind in front of his whole team.

"_I'm sorry I couldn't save you._" Harry eventually said. "_And I'm sorry I couldn't save your brother. I hope you can move on..._" Dennis's body faded away just as Harry finished speaking. The six Aurors hung their heads in sadness; a sign of respect for their missing team member. However, they didn't have time to linger. "_Let's press on._" Harry whispered, his voice horse. The blocked off tunnel was so quiet, it almost sounded like he was shouting. "_Expecto Patronum._" A few pathetic wisps of silver came out of his wand. He closed his eyes, trying to think back to any memory that the dementors hadn't tainted or sucked out of him. He felt as if he had nothing left.

In the corner if the tunnel, Pepper saw another hologram. This figment of the memory version of Harry's imagination was an eleven year old girl who, at first, Pepper assumed was Harry's daughter... that was until she realised the girl was wearing an overly exuberant, frilly, blue frock with a matching ribbon tying hack her long, strawberry blond ringlets. Her arms were folded angrily across her chest and, coupled with her indignant pout, showed her displeasure at the attire.

The memory was of her her, Pepper realised, back when all she had was her brother. The last time her aunt had dressed her in that ridiculous outfit was three nights before they had been whisked away by a magical flying car and she had been plunged into the magical world that she'd grown to despise.

The little girl looked straight up at the memory version of Harry. When her blue eyes met his green eyes, the scowl on her face melted away, and became a beam of excitement and adoration. The memory version of Harry was smiling back. The present version of Harry had turned bright red with embarrassment that Pepper was seeing the perfectly preserved memory he had of her.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" He bellowed. A silver stag erupted from his wand, ready to lead the way through the tunnels.

Unbeknownst to the Aurors, the walls at the heart of the caverns burnt a hot, steaming shade of red as they were branded. These travellers had done something no one else had. Not only had they survived, but they had killed a member of their own, who they had loved with all their hearts. The branding spread like wildfire throughout the caverns, burning anyone or anything touching the walls. However, when as the seconds ticked by, the walls cooled, leaving glistening golden cave paintings etched into the tunnels.

The drawings all had one theme; the skeletal, hooded figure of death.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

**_One thing I'd like to point out in this chapter is the start of Hermione's character development. I think that being minister for magic would make her more up-tight and desperate to follow the rules to avoid a scandal. This has obviously put a strain on her marriage and her family life. In this chapter, we see her bend the rules by not recording Rolf's illegal menagerie for Harry, showing she is still the person she was at school._**

**_I think it was the third chapter when Malfoy told Pepper they found a body. Intitially, I wasn't planning on going into so much detail about Harry's team and, when I decided to, I was going to have a character who was just kinda there to die (if that makes sense). Unfortunately, my mind is quite dark and I decided to kill off one of the characters I was most attached to in a way that's bit controversial. Letitia killed him so the dementors wouldn't get his soul and therefore allowed him to pass over peacefully (hopefully). However, does that justify her actions? I don't really know the right answer but I hope Harry's reaction lives up to how he would react in the books._**

**_Thanks again for reading and thanks for all the lovely reviews! I loved the idea for a wereworm but sadly I've already planned out the next chapter. Let me know what you think of this one and I'd also be interested in hearing any theories or ideas for future chapters! :)_**


	11. The Realm of the Dead

**Update:**

**I've gotten a lot of reviews about these chapters saying they deviate from the plot. They will be relevant to future plot lines so I don't want to change them completely but I've modified them so they're from Pepper's perspective, looking into her brother's pensieve. The story is the same but I hope you prefer this layout. If you don't, I still have a copy of the old ones so I'd be happy to change it back if people prefer that version.**

* * *

When Voldemort had performed the killing curse on Harry for the second time, Harry had been sent to Kings Cross station. Well it had looked like Kings Cross station but apparently had been much lighter and a hell of a lot cleaner. He'd been given a choice; he could live or pass over. He'd chosen life.

It hadn't been the traditional figure of the grim reaper that had given him that choice, but rather his former headmaster. There had been no skeletal, hooded figure that had appeared to the Peveral brothers in the story of the deathly hallows. Indeed, in the last thirty five years, he'd ever seen or experienced anything that could convincing him that an embodiment of death, or even heaven and hell actually existed. Until that day.

After Letitia Shacklebolt had murdered Dennis Creevey, the whole corridor around them seemed to transform, the walls glistened with bridge red patterns that, once cooled, appeared to be cave drawings. All pointed to the existence of Death.

"_Do you want to give me my wand back, Potter?_" Letitia asked, through gritted teeth.

"_Not a chance._" Harry replied without thinking, pocketing her wand and descending further into the caverns.

* * *

"It's weird isn't it?" The present day version of Harry said, as they strolled through the tunnels after the six Aurors. Pepper, who was staring at the runes that were suddenly appearing on the walls, nodded in agreement. She tried to reach out, to see whether it was hot, but her fingers just floated straight through the solid wall as if she was a ghost. Feeling rather foolish, she dropped her hands to her sides, remembering it was just a memory. "Even after eighteen years, I still miss you every day."

It took her a few moments to realise he was talking to her. Startled by the sudden change in conversation, her eyes flew almost instantly to his, her stomach twisting as if she'd driven down a hill too fast in one of Tony's sports cars.

"That's not weird." Her attempts to reassure him sounded too blasé, making his eyes fall away from hers, miserable by the realisation that Pepper hadn't allowed herself to miss her family and friends over all these years. She wondered whether he knew that she hadn't even given herself the chance to grieve properly for those she'd lost. "I didn't even realise how much I missed you until I saw you." She admitted, her voice sounding like the frightened teenager she used to be.

"Why did you leave?" Ginny asked, her voice was the perfect combination of hurt and curiosity that made Pepper look away from all her former friends in shame.

"Ginny." Harry said, his tone dark with warning.

"I have a right to ask!" His wife exclaimed. "All of us went through hell that year. Believe it or not Pepper, Harry needed you. George needed you. I needed you." Her gaze fell to the floor. "We needed you as much as you needed us to help you through it, but you just left with barely a goodbye and no explanation!"

Defensively, Pepper folded her arms, her left hand skirting her right forearm. The scars had healed as well as they could have, and the marks were hidden with a simple, but long lasting charm. She had always been good at charms.

"Harry, Hogwarts was your home, but it was never mine." She said, choosing her words carefully, trying with all her might to keep her face as an emotionless mask. It dawned on her, rather too late, that she shouldn't strive too hard to be as unreadable as Letitia. "When I saw you-know-who k-kill..." Her voice trailed off. She saw Harry's lips purse that the fact that she still refused to say Voldemort's name; she had the decency to feel guilty until her mind fell back to that moment when a bright green light had caused her brother to collapse. She remembered how he'd lain limply in Hagrid's arms, the half-giant's enormous tears washing the grime of her brother's face. "When I thought you were dead," Pepper revised her sentence, looking at the floor, "I realised that I never really wanted any of this. If it weren't for you, I don't even know if I would have kept returning to Hogwarts... but I did have you, you were all I had. Leaving was selfish, I know, and I never wanted to hurt any off you. But I've finally found a home."

"I still don't understand." Ginny murmured.

"Well you wouldn't." Pepper sighed. "You belong in this world."

"And you don't?" Ginny frowned, her voice full of hurt. Just as Pepper opened her mouth to attempt to explain further, Harry held up his hand to silence them, and pointed to the six Aurors from his memory to claim their attention.

"We're here." He whispered.

* * *

'Here', apparently, was a dead end in the tunnels. To be honest, Pepper has expected something a little more magnificent to be the centre of the caverns. It seemed a bit of an anticlimax that such an exciting journey should end here.

She knew Harry and the others had found the artefact, she'd seen it with her own eyes in the hospital room. However, there did not seem to be anything ahead of the. Rocks from a former roof collapse littered the dirt track. Pepper began to wonder whether they were about to blast their way through to face yet another terrifying obstacle.

Yet, as she watched and waited with bated breath as the suspense built, nothing happened. The six Aurors seemed as on edge as she was as they scanned the rockfall with dark detectors. There was nothing. No dark magic. She couldn't get Malfoy's words out of her head, saying that the artefact was dangerous, powerful and magical... she looked at her brother, disappointment and boredom written across her face.

"Wait for it..." Harry whispered.

"_Here!_" The memory version of her brother announced; leaning down and picking up what looked like a misshapen rock from the floor. On closer inspection, the object wasn't a rock; it was metal, shaped like half of a play station controller. The metal felt cool on his fingers, and refused to heat up as he held it. He's never known a muggle metal to behave that way, but Pepper had. She knew, without a doubt that it was vibranium.

On the top of the metal casing, there was a single button that was a strange shade of silvery blue. She watched as her brother took a deep breath and, against his better judgement, pressed it.

Nothing happened.

"_Well_." Rolf allowed an awkward half smile to appear on his pale, freckled face. "_That_ _was a little anti climatic_."

"_The spiders were right._" Harry shrugged casually, throwing it to Padma, who threw it to Gabrielle, who threw it to Ianto, who threw it to Rolf. Each one of them tried pressing the button and found nothing. "_It has no magic._"

His voice trailed off as Rolf tossed it to Letitia. The moment the vibranium touched her fingers the blue button began pulsing with wild excitement. While the other Aurors stared at her in shock, her face was completely calm, as if she'd expected this change to happen the whole time.

"_That was unexpected._" Letitia announced, face not expression anything that even resembled surprise.

"_Is that sarcasm?_" Padma muttered to Ianto, who shrugged. Pepper's mind moved at a thousand miles per hour as she tried to figure out why the artefact had 'powered up' under Letitia's touch. Perhaps it only revealed its secrets to those who had killed.

"_Shacklebolt, give me the artefact._" The memory version of Harry ordered; his voice was stern, but his eyes were full of fear. Fear that he might lose another team member.

"_But then, we will never know._" Letitia shrugged casually, before pressing her thumb down on the pulsing blue button.

What happened next was worse than Pepper could have ever imagined. Letitia Shacklebolt, who barely showed any emotion other then ambivalence, released a blood curdling scream, reminiscent of the noise people made under the cruciatus curse. All six Auror's watched in horror, frozen in shock, as Letitia's life force was drained from her and manifested itself in the cloaked figure of death.

Harry had only ever seen one other thing like it in his life; the moment when Tom Riddle's diary had corrupted Ginny Weasley. It was only then Letitia was cold, passed out that the being turned to them, his face expressionless, eyes cold. It's face was stripped of all outer flesh, leaving only a skeletal like face, covered in a single, final layer of flesh which make it a gruesome, bright shade of scarlet. The rest of its body was shielded from view by a black, thread bare cloak, that seemed to float eerily despite the last of wind.

"_What did you do to her?_" Harry shouted. He couldn't bare to lose another. In the last eighteen years, he'd never lost a team mate. Never.

"_She vill live, Harry Potter, son of James._" The figure said. Harry frowned; the voice was high and harsh, and clearly was a male voice with a thick, German accent. The bulging, black eyes sat strangely in the eye red sockets that should have been hollow. It was a disturbing sight.

"_You... you're death, aren't you?_" Harry breathed.

"_I was once a man, filled with a thirst so strong that it could not be quelled by any amount of vater. Vhat I thirsted for, vas power, like the power you seek in this cave. I believed I had a right to this great power; and, when I found it, it consumed me and made me into the manifestation you see before you. I now exist as the guardian of another power. The access to this power will only be revealed when the two sides of the map are reunited by someone who has destroyed the being they love most in the world._"

So that was why it worked for Letita; Pepper stared at the woman, as her life force was cruelly from her. It was a disgusting punishment, for something she'd attempted to do out of love for Dennis, so that he could pass over.

"_And what is this power?_" Harry looked extremely pained. His eyes flickered between his dying friend and the manifestation. He needed to save her, however, at the same time, he needed to find out more.

"_With the power, vill be able to kill someone with a snap of your fingers. You vill be able to speak to those who have passed through the veil and vill even be able to resurrect the dead._"

"_I held a stone like that once._" Harry said, recalling the resurrection stone. On his way to meet Voldemort, he'd held the resurrection stone in his hands and received gentle words of comfort from those he loved the most. When he was done, he threw the stone away so it would be lost forever in the forbidden forest. "_It was only able to bring back a ghost of loved ones, not give them physical form._"

"_Clearly, you did not know how to use it._" The manifestation told him, a hint of impatience in his voice. Harry glanced desperately at Letitia, watching as she became weaker and weaker. He had so many questions and yet he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if her life force left her body. Nothing good. "_I am afraid your time is up Mr Potter. Ms Shacklebolt. Ms Delacour. Healer Patil. Mr Scamander. Mr Jones._" He nodded briefly to them, before looking over their heads. For a moment, his black yet's met Pepper's, and a smile curled onto his lipless mouth that reminded her instantly of Voldemort. For a moment, she could have sworn he'd said "_Potts_", but that would be impossible. It was only a memory. A memory could not hurt her.

* * *

The memory dissolved and Pepper found herself once more sitting in the hospital room, her face pale, feeling as if she was about to throw up. She cast her mind back, remembering that outside the hospital ward, the entire Weasley family was celebrating her return. After hearing death's words, all she wanted was to go home. Was to beg Tony's forgiveness for leaving and carry on as if none of this had ever happened.

"When Death broke the connection with Letitia, there was a shock wave so great we were all knocked unconscious." Harry told them, his voice grave. "Gabrielle was the first to recover... Some minister a are still a bit iffy about integrating half breeds into society, but without Gabrielle's Veela blood chances are the dementors would have found us before any of us woke up. She was still weak, but was able to float us into Rolf's case and then used the last of her strength to apparate. We ended up somewhere in the Pyrenees where you guys found us... with Malfoy's help apparently."

An eerie silence built up between them, each person trying to think of something to say to Harry. His hand was clasped around Ginny's, as if she was the only thing keeping him afloat after experiencing the terrors of his journey a second time. In the end, it was Ron that broke the silence.

"So... it is magical?" Ron asked.

"It's not." Harry said, with the utmost certainty. "It can't be."

"Then, is it just a really advanced muggle comp-u-tar?" His frown deepened. He scratched the wispy beard he'd been attempting to grow on his face. This time, it was Pepper who, despite not wanting to get involved any further, found herself speaking.

"It's not muggle." She admitted. "My job involves looking through portfolios of the most cutting edge technology, there's nothing on Earth that can do anything like that." Nothing on Earth. Initially, her choice of wording was just trivial. The exclamation: 'what on Earth is that?' never used to have a deeper meaning before the Avengers came along. Now however it meant something.

Hermione's eyes widened to the point where her eyes were nearly popping out of her face, the way they always used to look whenever a teacher spent too long trying to decide who to choose to answer the question.

"It's not magical and not muggle." Hermione said when Pepper reluctantly met her insane-looking gaze. "They're the obvious choices. Whatever's left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth... but it's going to sound completely insane."

"Get to the point, love." Ron rolled his eyes.

"I think it might be..." Hermione took a deep breath, ignoring his husband's comment and staring directly at Harry and Pepper. "...Extraterrestrial!"

Another long, drawn out silence followed her words... then, out of the blue, Harry, Ron and Ginny began to snigger at her apparently preposterous statement.

"C'mon Hermione!" Harry chuckled. "Surely you don't believe in little green men making crop circles and probing nutters..." His and Pepper's first experience with aliens had been Dudley's many blaster games on his many games consoles.

Although, at the time, they had the latest graphics, they were shockingly poor in comparison to the games some of the students that had been awarded the Stark Industries grant had created. She could understand, from that representation of aliens, why alien life was such a ridiculous idea to him and other muggle borns that had lost touch with the muggle world. However, after Thor and the battle of New York, alien life wasn't a conspiracy theory any more, it was a fact. When she tried to tell the boys this, they ignored her.

"Didn't you listen to what death said?" Ron asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's obvious he was describing the resurrection stone! The stone's not alien, it's magic."

"The resurrection stone cannot kill people. Nor can it give people bodies!" Hermione argued.

"Says who? A kids story book!" Ron raised his voice, as if he was determined not to be silenced by his wife once more. "Just because its in a book, doesn't make it fact!"

"Merlin's beard Ronald! Will you listen you yourself?" In her rage, the minister for magic's voice became several decibels higher. "The universe doesn't revolve around the deathly hallows!"

Pepper felt herself gasp. In her head, little pieces of their conversation fell together as if they were puzzle pieces in her brain. She felt parts of the puzzle unlocking from places deep within her mind that she'd thought she'd forgotten about. Rare footage from the second world war intertwined with Tony's boasts about his missions and rare glimmers of confidential information she tried to ignore when she was in the avengers compound.

"What if it does?" She asked, her voice hushed. "I've heard stories about some stones, alien stones. I've only seen one of them with my own eyes, but I've seen photographs and heard reports of what they can do... they're extremely powerful. What if they power the hallows"

"It's a bit far-fetched of course." Hermione nodded her head, her bushy hair flying free from her tight, businesslike bun. "But it's definitely a line of inquiry I'd be interested in pursuing. If this artefact is a map to one of these stones, think about what it could do in the wrong hands!"

"In Malfoy's hands!" Ron said, screwing up his face as if he was about to throw up. "He's the one who wanted us to find it. Who was planning on testing it!"

"I keep telling you, he's not cunning enough for any of this!" Harry protested. "We need to find out who the marionettist is, then, perhaps we'll find the other half of the map."

"Do you think it's Astoria?" Ginny asked.

"Potentially." Hermione said. "There is a way we could find out... you know in my manifesto I mention building bridges as opposed to walls between muggles, half bloods and pure bloods? Perhaps we should pretend to be acting on that, Al and Rose are the same as as Draco's son. We could organise a play date"

"Are you completely insane?" Harry raised her eyebrows. "I'm not getting the children involved."

"They'll be perfectly safe. Ron and Ginny can stay them the whole time... and it's a win-win. We can check out the Malfoy's while being seen to be fulfilling election promises." She beamed. "Ron, don't look so terrified, you were the one who wanted me to 'lighten up' and 'bend the rules'."

"I've created a monster." Ron whispered to himself; either Hermione didn't hear, or she was to wrapped up in her planning to notice.

"Now," Hermione carried on, oblivious to the way the others were staring at her. "While you two are doing that, Harry, Pepper and I need to formulate a plan to break into the Avengers compound." She spoke as casually as if she was discussing the weather, and it took a few moments for Pepper to realise what she actually said. When she did, her blue eyes bulged as she stared at Hermione incredulously.

"I beg your pardon?!" Pepper stared at her in shock, her accent unarguably British.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)**_

_**Sorry about the delay in publishing this - I've spent a couple of weeks updating the last three chapters. I hope you like the changes! I still have the old versions, so I can always change them back!**_

_**Thanks for all the reviews on the last few chapters, they've all been really helpful! **_


	12. Wingardium Leviosa

Somewhere deep in the bowels of the ministry of magic, Pepper Potts glared, exhausted, at her foe as sweat dripped heavily from her brow. The enemy seemed to be watching her, taunting her constant failures... yet no amount of taunts could flare her anger up enough to allow even the tiniest fleck of magic out of her wand.

It had been like this when she was a child, she remembered. While Harry was leaping onto school roofs, making ugly jumpers shrink and forcing his scruffy hair to grow back after it had been cut, she'd never really shown an aptitude for magic. One time, after Dudley had eaten all of her sweets and thrown the bag back at her with a laugh, she'd found two left at the bottom... but whether that was magic or just his stupidity she couldn't be sure. Another time, she'd really wanted her cuddly toy penguin but, when she went upstairs to get it, it was missing. Uncle Vernon's roars had alerted her to the location of her toy; it had been in the room she'd been in initially the whole time. As accidental magic went, she wasn't sure if these situations counted; they could have easily been explained by muggle forgetfulness instead of magic.

"Eet weell be just like flying a kite!" Gabrielle Delacour had promised her when she'd started the tutoring sessions (meaning, it will be just like riding a bike). "You will remember everyzing soon enough!"

Only, it had been two whole weeks, and she couldn't even get a damn feather to levitate. Back when she was eleven, she had mastered that charm within around five minutes.

"What if..." She turned nervously to Gabrielle, who was playing Solitaire - a muggle card game that Pepper had taught her in one of the many arduous hours they had spend locked together in that room - quietly in the corner while Pepper practised. "What if I've lost my magic, after not using it for so long?"

"Don't be reediculous!" Gabrielle assured her. "Zere are witches and wizards who spent decades miserably wasting away in Askaban and, when zey were freed, zeir mageec was as good as it had been before." Pepper wasn't so certain. Just because they lost their wands did not mean that the criminals in Askaban stopped using magic. There had only been one case she'd heard off when a witch wanted to repress their magic; Professor Dumbledore's sister. That story did not have a particularly happy ending either. Her magic exploded out of her in waves, destroying anything that came into her path including her own mother. Pepper had never experienced anything like that, however, she was just rusty.

"Do you think its a problem with my technique?"

"You 'ave ze technique down to a gee-"

"Down to a tee." Pepper corrected her, trying to stop a smile crawling its way onto her lips as Gabrielle looked at her triumphantly. When they had first met, she had adamantly refused to correct Gabrielle's mistaken idioms feeling it was incredibly rude. At some point since them, they had crossed the barrier between acquaintances to firm friends; Pepper had just gotten the confidence to tease her like the other Aurors did. In her muggle life, she didn't have any friends she could tease; Tony did that enough for the pair of them. Her role was to tell him off and build bridges between potential clients and investors that he irritated.

"Oui, oui!" Gabrielle nodded, waving her hands expressively as if to brush away her mistake. "Ze problem you 'ave ees wiz your confeedence."

"She's right." A voice came from the entrance way. When she looked up a rare smile broke out, like a rash, on her face. Her big brother lent against the door frame, most of his weight resting heavily on an old fashioned, wooden cane.

It had been fourteen days since she had seen Harry; the minister for magic's insistence she learn magic for the heist took up the majority of her days, and her evenings and nights were spend with the Weasley's fussing over her, as if they were afraid she'd take off again. His beard was longer, his face seemed paler and there was dark grey bags underneath his eyes from where the pain had denied sleep from him.

"You'll get the hang of it, sooner or later, Gin." He said, limping towards them. Taking a step forward, Pepper wordlessly offered her help, but her brother refused with a short, sharp, shake of his head. "You just need to get back on that horse!"

"Are you buying a pony 'Arry?" Gabrielle asked, her expression was one of surprise.

"It's an adage." Pepper explained, to save the poor woman from any further embarrassment.

"I am not fameeliar wiz zat breed." Gabrielle shrugged, turned absentmindedly back to her game.

Harry's eyes met Pepper's and his pained grimace transformed into a large grin as he tried to stop himself from laughing at Gabrielle's confusion. Pepper couldn't help but smile back. It felt like a long time since she had smiled.

Despite being curious about the artefact, Pepper wasn't a hundred percent sure about staying in the magical world. Since she'd been staying with Mr and Mrs Weasley again, she was already beginning to acquire the familiar feeling of being trapped. Of course, she couldn't discuss this with anybody; she would not know how to broach the subject with her family. The only person she desperately wanted to talk all this through with, was Tony.

However, she repressed this feeling. Even if she could have found a way to explain any of this madness to him and to make him believe her, she physically couldn't. Being surrounded constantly by magic messed up the radio waves on her phone... not that it mattered. Whenever she was able to check it, the only missed calls and texts were from the press.

Even in the UK, where the headlines should have been filled with information about the EU referendum that would be happening later that year, she couldn't walk past a muggle newspaper stand without seeing her own face staring back at her. Of course, as the papers became less factual and more trashy, the photographs they chose became less and less flattering. The stories were christening her sudden departure as one of the largest scandals ever in the history of Stark industries. This was a rather ludicrous statement since, only the year before, Tony created a killer robot and set it lose on planet Earth.

In protest, Pepper had resorted to buying the local rag of little village of Ottery St. Catchpole where the Burrow resided. The biggest story in this paper pertained to a swan that had gotten lose. It was warning people to 'keep their distance' if they saw it and to 'be careful whilst travelling'. The whole thing seemed to be blown out of proportion. However, she didn't feel like she could say any of this to her brother so she just said;

"You sure you're ok to be out of hospital? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, little sister!" He chuckled, messing up her hair as he had always done when they were children. "You worry too much - remember how quickly Madam Pomfrey to regrow my bones?"

"Yes." She placed her hands on her hips in what she hoped looked like a daunting power-pose (if only she'd gone to that power-pose seminar that was held few months earlier - when she'd suggested it, Tony had laughed his head off at the concept). "But I also remember how long Mr Weasley was in hospital when he was bitten by you-know-who's snake, and it was a hell of a lot longer than two weeks."

"I think you'll find magical medicine has improved by leaps and bounds since then..."

"Eet 'as not." Gabrielle interrupted, her laugh sounding like a beautiful wind chime dancing in the breeze. "Your brozer ees too stubborn for 'is own good. 'E 'as no time to be injured so 'e tells 'imself 'e ees fine and does not listen to 'is body when eet tells 'im ozerwise."

Gabrielle's description of her brother was scarily similar to how the people closed to her would describe her. In the last eighteen years, she had taken a total of two sick days; one when she was having Aldrich Killian's Extremis virus removed from her body and the other day had been one time when she'd been so sick with the flu, that Happy Hogan refused to let her in his car... unable to face the prospect of public transport, she'd worked from home for most of the day.

"Well, it's a genetic problem." She said, smiling once again. Harry grinned back, while Gabrielle shook her head in exasperation.

"You two are 'opeless causes!" She announced.

"Talking about hopeless causes..." Harry said, his tone of voice quickly changing to one of the utmost seriousness. With a silent flick of his wand, the door to the ministry room slammed shut behind him. "...I take it the minister hasn't briefed either of you yet on her plans to break into the Avengers compound?"

"You mean, you're actually planning that? I thought that was a bad joke!" Pepper asked, incredulously. She ignored the anger rising through her, "Are you out of your mind?"

"You know our Hermione." Harry said irritably, there were traces of a smile on his face despite his tone. "Once she gets an idea into that big, bushy head of hers, there's no coaxing it out again."

"Wait... then she's also sending your kids into Malfoy's mansion to do some snooping?" Pepper asked, her mouth falling open in disbelief.

"Think of all the things we did when we were kids." Harry joked; although the humour drained out of his face when he say Pepper's stern expression; it was an exact replica of the one Aunt Petunia wore when Harry had put a single toe out of line. "Ok, you were good as gold when you were a kid... and it's not like the kids are going in alone, they'll have Ron and Ginny with them to do the actual snooping... but the details still need to be ironed out and we need to talk about the Heist."

"The Heist?" Pepper repeated incredulously, disapproving oozing from every inch of her. "How can you be so obtuse? You do realise that I actually know the Avengers, right? We could literally just ask them about the artefact!"

"And they wouldn't ask any questions about where we got it?" Harry raised his eyebrows sceptically. "And they would let us keep it after?"

"Stranger things have happened."

Despite her confident protests, she was starting to realise that Harry was right; they couldn't just ask the Avengers for help, no matter how much she wanted to. Since she had walked out on Tony, they had no reason to trust her, especially when she'd clearly be withholding information about these alien stones that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. And, once the Avengers had figured out what the artefact was, she would not be able to escape from the compound without magic unless she handed it over.

So what would happen if they handed over everything they had? Clearly the Avengers knew more than them about all this. Her mind whirred at a hundred miles per hour as she remembered watching the news flashes of Sokovia after the robot uprising. If Ultron had proven anything, it showed that the Avengers were not necessarily the right hands, despite their good intentions. Even if somehow, she could make them promise to just hide and protect it rather than use it, there was a whole sub-population of the planet who could steal it as easily as taking candy from a baby (with the aid of disillusionment charms and polyjuice potion of course).

"Ok, so assuming we can't ask them for help." Pepper said, thinking out loud. "Harry, you have to understand that breaking into a muggle compound with state of the art technological security systems filled with super humans will be just as risky. There's no way of knowing the effect magic will have all Tony's inventions... it's not like in fifth year when we just wondered into the department of ministries!"

Harry flinched at the memory; the movement was tiny, unnoticeable to most people, but Pepper saw it. Voldemort had lured Harry to the ministry that night by making him believe he was torturing Sirius. With no time to contact the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Pepper had rushed to the ministry. The moment they got there, something felt wrong... it felt like a trap. Voldemort's henchmen had ensured Harry and his friends could easily run straight into the department of ministries without being accosted.

As it turned out, Sirius had never been there, but he arrived in time to save his best friend's son. Pepper remembered being in the midst of the battle, attempting to dual with Bellatrix (in which she just attempted to maintain a shield charm); Sirius had shoved her out of the way of the witch's curse and, in doing so, had been caught right in the chest with it. The thought of Bellatrix's evil cackles haunted her to that day.

"The thing is though, we can walk straight through the front door." Harry said, his voice low as if worried people were listening despite the freakishly strong privacy charms buzzing through the walls. "The Avengers are separate from the governments, all governments, like a world wide private security company... you know what Aunt Marge would always say when Uncle Vernon started banging on about privatising the police?"

"He'd talk about investors - how they'd be above the law and it would never work..." Pepper said, her mouth contorting into a shape of an 'o' as she realised the minister's plan. "We introduce potential investors? Harry, the Avengers have all the funding they need, courtesy of Stark Industries."

"And who knows more about made up irregularities in the budget sheet of Stark Industries than it's former CEO?" Harry winked at her. "With all the rumours going around in the press and the fact that Stark knows nothing about budgeting, the chances are they'll believe you if you spin a story about needing investors, you've never needed Veela charm or the imperious curse to persuade someone to do something, you only needed words... and I don't think you've changed." Despite her better judgement, the corners of Pepper's mouth flicked upwards into something that was almost a smile. "We can iron out the rest of the details later... essentially I'll be under the cloak when you introduce two investors - Aurors in disguise. Then, while the Aurors distract the Avengers, you and I will sneak past them, bypass the security and find out what we want to know."

"You almost make it sound easy." Pepper raised her eyebrows. "An awful lot hinges on the distraction Aurors as well. Their story needs to be infallible, meaning accessible, believable website, balance sheets, even LinkedIn profiles. At least one of them need to be a muggle expert..."

"I agree." Harry nodded, his eyes flicking awkwardly to Gabrielle, who, up until that moment, Pepper had almost forgotten about. Thinking about it, the French woman would excel at the task; men and woman both would easily fall for her charm and her Veela powers would be an effective back up plan. However, by her own admission, her expertise did not cover much of the muggle world. "Hermione wants you." Harry murmured reluctantly to the half-Veela, confirming Pepper's suspicions.

"And you disagree?" Pepper frowned, drawing that assumption from Harry's body language.

"Eet ees out of ze questeeon!" Gabrielle announced, her voice sounding loud and strained. For the first time, Pepper saw a crack in her previously flawless facade, her eyes physically darkening as her Veela-like temper began to rise. "Eet ees too soon! Pepper 'as said the illuseeon must be perfect, 'owever, you introduce someone new to the team at a critical stage like this and..." With a single flick of her wand, the father Pepper had been trying to make fly, blew up in gentle, controlled flames. "I say zis not only out of respect for Dennees, but for ze misseeon also; ze expert and myself will neizer trust nor know each ozer."

"I know." Harry said, desperately trying to quell Gabrielle's anger. "I understand. It has to be infallible. I've said all this to Hermione already."

"And you can tell 'er again! Until she listens, oui!"

"I will do." Harry nodded, in such a sincere way that it left a disgruntled Gabrielle speechless. When he used that tone, it made someone believe without a doubt that he would figure out the solution to whatever puzzle needing solving or fix whatever problem needing fixing. "Whoever it is, we need to trust them as well which is going to be tricky since you've been out of this world for so long, but I think we can come up with a solution. Maybe Justin Finch-Fletchley..."

"What about Ron and Hermione?" Pepper interrupted him, not wanting to listen to a long list of muggle-borns who'd happened to be in Hogwarts the same time as her. Harry looked at her in surprise. "What's more believable than Ron, who's done a good amount of work for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and understands general business concepts (hell, that's where I learnt half the things I know today) and Hermione, who literally runs the country so it'll be easy to pass her off as a CEO. We can all know and trust each other... this could actually work with them."

"She ees right." Gabrielle nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes she is." Harry nodded, a grin spreading over his face. "Well done you." His tone was a fraction too condescending for Pepper's liking.

"I'm the CEO of a billion dollar company - don't act so surprised when I have a good idea. They're not rare." She told him, her voice a fraction too harsh. In the corner of her eye, she saw Gabrielle grinning.

"Sorry, little sister..."

"And enough with this 'little sister' nickname!" Pepper threw her hands in the air in over exaggerated exasperation. Perhaps she'd been spending far too much time with Gabrielle, who always over exaggerated her body language. "At first it was cute... but I'm kinda getting sick of you pointing out the eleven month age gap between us, especially when I'm actually taller than you."

"You are not taller than me!" Harry exclaimed, completely missing the point of her outburst. "You're just wearing heels."

"'Arry!" Gabrielle growled, "she ees saying you are under-estimating 'er. She ees a muggle business expert, you ought to utilise her skills rather zan locking 'er in 'ere wiz me to learn 'ow to make a feazer fly!"

"Exactly." Pepper nodded at Gabrielle's words, "If you're going ahead with this Heist, you're going to need to involve me at every stage of the planning and reviewing. As for the website I might know a guy..."

"Actually Letitia actually has a contact for all that computer malarkey." Harry interrupted her, looking rather awkward at the fact that he was being told off by his little sister in front of one of his subordinates. "The, um, the princess of Wakanda is very skilled with computers, like very skilled..."

Pepper regarded him sceptically. As far as she knew, Wakanda was a third world country, whose warriors still opted to use spears rather than machine guns. Admittedly, they were very good at using spears, however, if they fought with another, more advanced country, all those great warriors would be slaughtered. Perhaps this princess did know how to build a website good enough to impress wizards; that was not a particularly hard thing to do. The Avengers would be a different story.

Yet all the business contacts she knew would sell her out to either Stark or the paparazzi. It would be vital that no one find out that they were planning and, because of the lack of connection between her and the princess, at least she could trust that she'd be discrete.

"Fine." She said. "But please can I review the site and materials before they're released? Checking things like this is literally part of my job."

"Ok, there's no need to give a speech, I trust you." He promised. "I'll deal with the minister, in the mean time..." He picked Pepper's wand up off the table and handed it to her. "Keep practising." Filled with a new enthusiasm and excitement, Pepper turned to back to the charred remains of the feather.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_." Pepper said, flicking and swishing her wand. The feather rose a few millimetres off the surface of the desk, before gliding gently down to the floor. "Was that me? Or a freak gust of wind caused by you opening the door?" Pepper asked, frowning in confusion.

"I have no idea." Harry smiled at her, "but you'll get it eventually. I have every faith in you, Gin." He spoke with such sincerity, that Pepper blushed slightly. Luckily, her brother didn't see has he slowly limped out of the room, his walking stick smacking against the slabs of stone in a sound that reminded her of Mad-Eye Moody.

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

**_Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been aggesss since the last chapter, I've been working on a couple of other story ideas. Thanks for all the lovely reviews I've had for the last chapter :) _**

**_This chapter is a bit boring (sorry) its a lot of dialogue as well but I think something like this is needed to convince Pepper that Hermione's Heist is the only option to find out what the Avengers truly know about the artefact and the infinity stones (and how they relate to the hallows). This chapter was shorter then others because I didn't include a flashback, if I had it would probably be from the Order of the Phoenix where Harry and the others broke into the ministry at the end or perhaps Pepper first learning how to do magic. _**

_**I got the idea for the power-pose seminar Pepper mentioned earlier was from an episode of Brooklyn 99, and the idea about the swan escaping was from the movie Hot Fuzz (and actually happened earlier this month when a swan wondered onto the M5).**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry to say that there might be a wait (again) before the next one, I've got several huge deadlines at work this week so won't have time to think about the story, but if anyone has any ideas for chapters or theories I'd love to hear them! Thanks again for reading :) x**_


	13. An Unexpected Change Of Plan

Ron was miserable.

Granted he had never really been known for his cheery disposition, but Pepper, Hermione and Harry had dragged him through a series of horrific trials and had brought him to the brink of despair. He tugged miserably at the stiff collar of his uncomfortable muggle suit, gazing with intense lust at all the corner shops, bakeries, cafes and restaurants the yellow taxi was slowly drove past.

"Can't we just..." He started to say, but was instantly cut off by his not-so-loving wife.

"Ronald Weasley, if you get out of this car I will kill you." Hermione snapped. Sulkily, Ron folded his arms, and sat back in the uncomfortable seat with a grumpy pout. He knew they could all hear his stomach rumbling even though they pretended they couldn't. Glaring at the watch his mother had given him for his seventeenth birthday, he saw he'd missed two whole meals now; if he didn't eat soon, he'd be in real danger of starving to death.

Not that his friends cared of course. They never seemed to care. It had been a long time since he'd so vividly been reminded their fruitless hikes around the British countryside, hoping to gleam some miraculous piece of information about the locations of the horcruxes.

The main difference now, was that Pepper sat beside them, sitting on the edge of her seat as still as a statue. When she was younger, she used to chew her lip or bite her nails when she was this anxious, however, years of training herself in the muggle business world had forced her to renounce these bad habits. When she was stressed, she had taken to checking her phone a thousand times a minute while a voice inside her head was screaming irrationally.

There had only been one part of their seventh year adventures that Pepper had joined Harry, Ron and Hermione for, and even in his angry, hungry state, Ron had better sense than to bring it up. Despite his efforts, his eyes flickered to her wand arm and he couldn't help wondering whether she was in pain. As if she sensed his gaze, Pepper absentmindedly moved her left hand so it covered the place where the old scars lay underneath highly powerful charms that made her skin look flawless.

"Let's go over the plan again." Pepper suggested, her voice sounding so shrill in the otherwise silent car that Ron felt like her voice had pierced his eardrums.

As Pepper spoke, her blue eyes flickered over towards Harry, who was smirking at her the way she did when she said or did anything remotely 'Dursley' like. As children, they'd been forced to endure endless enactments for important dinner parties and other events the Dursley's hosted; the most memorable being when Harry had just turned twelve and a house elf had dropped a pavlova on the head of a guest.

No amount of planning could ever prepare her for the immense betrayal she was about to undertake. First of all, she had no idea how the avengers would react to her entering their compound, uninvited, with three wizards. Even though she'd known the superheroes for years now, they always found a way to surprise her... her mind flung itself back to a moment when she'd found a six foot bunny waiting for her as a gift from Tony. It was strange how her life, that had begun in such a predictable, organised place, had become quite the opposite and, no matter how hard she tried to make it more normal, it kept getting stranger.

"We arrive at the compound gates in the cab. Sam..." It was too painful to refer to the avenger by their first names; calling them by their surnames gave her an extra level of detachment. "...Wilson will probably fly out to greet us. I'll introduce Ron and Hermione as potential investors. He'll call back to the house and they'll do some research on your fake business... Thanks to Letitia's contact, we have a watertight cover."

She'd been skeptical when Shacklebolt had suggested asking the princess of a third world, African country to forge documents to fool the greatest minds and best technology of the twenty first century... but she couldn't find a single issue with the documentation. It made her wonder about Wakanda; whether it was truely what it seemed... but now wasn't the time to worry about lol that.

"Hermione, you will be..." Pepper paused just for a moment, but it was long enough for the minister for magic to jump in enthusiastically with her memorised role in the plan.

"I'll give them an overview of the business." The minister said. Other than Pepper, she was the only one in the group who had bothered to study the documents the Wakandan Princess had sent over. "What we do, the financial accounts, how we could help the Avengers, etcetera."

"Perfect." Pepper beamed. "And Ron?"

"I'll be smiling, nodding and letting Hermione do the talking. When I do speak, I talk about muggle things like plugs or our stupid airy-plane flight. Still can't see why we couldn't have at least confunded the... what do you muggles call them? Trolly dollies? Doesn't matter... point is we could have confounded them into getting better seats. I swear I lost the use of my legs, and don't feel the started on the food..."

"We were trying to be inconspicuous." Pepper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in despair.

"And it took so long! I can't see why we couldn't have used floo powder or a port key and arrived in a matter of seconds." He carried on, voice gradually getting louder oblivious to glares the others were giving him. "I mean, Hermione, you're the minister for... erm... m-a-g-i-c for Merlin's sake!" At his loud exclamations, Harry thwacked his forehead with his hand, and Hermione looked as if she was going to murder her husband. The taxi driver peering into the back mirror, staring at them with an expression of amusement and confusion.

"You know the answers to all this already." Hermione hissed. As Pepper attempted to wordlessly indicate to the driver that Ron was a little bit off his rocker. "Because, if we travel using an authorised port key, we'd have to explain to the American ministry that we're conducting an unsolicited mission on their favourite muggle superheroes and they're going to ask why. Frankly Ronald, I believe that the fewer people who know about the Artefact and what it can do, the better."

"Agreed." Harry nodded.

"Right, now we've got that sorted, let's carry on with the run through." Pepper forced a smile onto her face which gave her the appearance of being slightly constipated. Ron was about to comment, when Harry gently indicated to his best friend that he really should shut up. "Harry, remind me what you're doing, please."

"I'll be under the cloak." Harry shrugged casually. "Making no noise and pretending that I don't exist."

"Wish it was the other way around." Ron growled. "How come he get's to stay under the cloak?"

When coupled with an ounce of common sense, the briefest glance at Harry could have answered that question. The years as an auror had covered his face and arms with dents bruises and scars, and he still wasn't completely stable when walking on his injured leg. Padma Patil had taught him a charm that gave him the sweet release from pain for about an hour, and allowed him to put weight on the wound. Even Vision, who had barely been living for a year would be suspicious of a person claiming to be a businessman who looked like the had just tumbled from a cage fight. Neither Pepper nor Hermione had the will to explain this to Ron, and the four adults spent the remainder of the long, arduous journey sitting in silence.

The magnitude of what they were about to attempt began to dawn on Pepper. Not only was she about to break into one of the most secure, high tech facilities on the planet, but she was also betraying her friends. These people had been like family to her over the past few years. She wondered whether Harry would have done something like this if the tables were turned; if it was his team he was lying to and stealing information from. From the way he looked at Ron and Hermione, she was willing to guess that there was no way in hell he'd ever do that. Not even for her.

Just as the sun was beginning to set across the perfectly mown, frosted grass, the white cubic building became visible. Bathed in the pinky-orange light, Pepper couldn't help but compare it to every building she had ever seen in the wizarding world. Although the enormous castles, and complex underground labyrinths occupied a fond place in her heart, she loved the modern, clean cut style of the modern buildings she'd helped to design. It was the opposite of quant, quintessentially British buildings she had grown up surrounded by; the perfect metaphor for her new life.

"It looks so out of place." Ron mused as they drew closer, craning her next over the top of the seats to get a better look. "From what you were saying, and the rural location, I feel like it should be a castle with dungeons and moat... not a muggle office block!"

"That's part of the charm." Pepper said defensively.

"I think it's magnificent." Hermione grinned at it in awe. "Like something plucked from an episode of Grand Designs."

By the time they reached the avengers compound, the sun was staring to set, casting a gentle pinky-orange glow across the grounds. The four adults pushed and shoved their way out of the back of the cab. This was the first time Pepper had been able to stretch her legs in almost sixteen hours and it felt amazing.

"The sensor's just past that point." Pepper pointed, as Harry slipped on the invisibility cloak and Ron threw a handful of dollar bills at the driver, struggling with the flimsy muggle money before confunding him. It wouldn't do to have him remembering Harry disappearing, or the exact location of the avengers facility. "When we get to it I'll call into the house, stating your names and..."

"Ms Potts?" Captain Roger's echoed out from behind her. Pepper felt her stomach sinking; it wasn't a huge change of plan, but it was large enough to throw her off. Turning, Pepper saw it was not just Captain Rogers, but also Romanoff, Wilson, Scarlet Witch and Vision greeting them.

"What are you doing here?" Romanoff asked, her voice cool and emotionless. "And who exactly are they?" She nodded to Hermione and Ron, who both looked rather startled by their frosty greeting.

Pepper froze, trying to think of the right thing to say. For a moment, she was eleven again, found wondering the castle halls by professor Snape one evening, when she'd forgotten the way back to her common room. Even now, she could remember the sneer that had contorted his slimy features into an expression that reflected pure evil. Luckily, no situation had ever been terrifying enough to stop Hermione Granger talking. The other woman stepped forward, an enormous beam on her face.

"Hello. I'm Hermione Granger, and this is my business associate Ronald Weasley. It's so wonderful to meet you all."

The avengers looked at them sideways, with such confusion and distaste Pepper started to wonder whether the clothes she was wearing were just an illusion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron wriggle his arm awkwardly, forcing his wand out of the sleeve of his shirt and into the palm of his sweaty hand. It was strange that she felt the urge to do the same, but resisted. Her magic still hadn't come back properly.

_Please don't let this turn into a fight_! Pepper begged some kind of invisible force she really didn't believe in. Every single fibre in her body told her this was going to turn into a fight.


	14. The Avengers Compound

"Why don't we all take a deep breath." Pepper said, somehow managing to keep her voice surprisingly calm and even. Reluctantly, she nudged her feet forward, so she was standing directly between the Avengers and the wizards, hoping neither party would shoot first with her in the middle.

Her nervous eyes flicked to Ron and Hermione. Both stood in the typical stance they'd been trained to stand in whilst duelling. Just looking at them brought Pepper back to the fateful events of the duelling club, where Harry had revealed his parselmouth powers. Their hands were curled upwards unnaturally, ready to retrieve their wands in a matter of moments should the need arise. Discretely, Pepper shook her head in an attempt to remind her friends they were supposed to be playing the part of innocent muggle business partners.

Unfortunately, they didn't stand down; neither did the Avengers. The unexpected show of aggression from Ron and Hermione had made them even more suspicious. Captain Rogers' hands tightened into fists, while Agent Romanoff crouched like a tiger about to pounce. Red mist slowly emerged from Maximoff's hands and spread around her body, allowing her to defy gravity and hover gracefully between Vision and Wilson. Pepper found herself wishing Gabrielle was there; the half Vella would be able to charm them in an instant...

What was it Harry had said? He'd told her she didn't need Veela charm or the imperious curse to convince people to do things. She could convince them to stand down with the right combination of words. Taking a deep breath, she took yet another step towards the Avengers, when she just wanted to run away. Every movement she made was slow and cautious; she didn't want to find out what would happen if she made a single sudden movement.

"We are unarmed civilians." She fibbed, staring into Captain Rogers bright blue eyes. If she could hope to win only a fraction of his trust, it might save the plan... and their lives of course. "Come on Steve, this is crazy... I urgently need to talk to you."

"What about?" Romanoff arched a single eyebrow as she spoke.

"It's a sensitive subject..." Pepper admitted, but, seeing Romanoff tense words tumbled out of her mouth without her even pausing to think about what she was about to say. "The financial conduct authority have been investigating Stark Industries' finances and they've found some serious irregularities. After the scandals over the last few years... including SHEILD's downfall, my take over as CEO and Tony's refusal to cut down on spending, the company's finances are plummeting exponentially towards the red. Ms Granger and Mr Weasley are here to discuss ways of saving the Avengers initiative before Tony drags you all down with him."

It was a stroke of luck that the words she had rehearsed a thousand times we the ones that fell from her lips as convincingly as if they were the truth. Pepper felt like in the split second she'd made the decision to speak, there had been a high chance she would have just told them about the artefact and its links to the strange space stones, one of which was nestled comfortably in Vision's forehead. Captain Rogers was the first to lower his fists.

"Is that true?" Captain Rogers asked, looking into her eyes deeply, searching for any sign that he was being deceived.

"It is." Pepper promised. "You can trust me." Her words were necessary, and yet they made her feel queazy. A large part of her job involved her twisting negatives into positives for the sake of the company, but she very rarely had to tell outright lies like this and never ever to someone she respected as much as Captain Rogers.

After an almost imperceptive nod from the Captain, everyone seemed to lower their guard, well everyone except for Vision. He rose a few inches into the air, staring straight past Pepper down the road. Confused, she glanced behind her. Ron and Hermione were standing a few meters away from her out of Vision's eye line. They were both wearing nervous smiles of muggles who didn't quite understand what was happening; she was relieved to see they were looking the part again.

"Are you ok, Vis?" Maximoff asked, nervously.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite alright." He replied, her voice knocking him out of whatever trance he had been in. Still he kept glancing back to the blank space he'd been staring into. It was the exact spot Harry had been standing when he put the cloak on. She felt a cold stab of fear course through her veins.

"Perhaps we could go inside, get out of the cold." She suggested, running her hands over her arms to illustrate her point. "And I can explain everything."

After a few seconds of deliberation, Captain Rogers nodded. She could tell it had been a close call between allowing them inside or sending them away. His curiosity had gotten the best of him, Pepper reflected. He'd chosen wrong.

* * *

If the concept of 'rise of the machines' was to originate anywhere, it was no surprise it had been in the Avengers compound. Even the most mundane objects had an artificial intelligence, including the damn coffee machine. Admittedly, Pepper had never thought about how irritating and useless it was to have a talking coffee machine until she and Hermione were sitting in the lobby of the compound, listening to Ron order cup after cup of coffee.

"Ha! Amazing!" Ron exclaimed after the coffee machine said;

"_Can I interest you in another coffee or a hot chocolate? Perhaps you'd like to choose from my wide selection of teas?"_

"How marvellous!" Ron grinned, instantly ordering a hot chocolate. "Have you girls seen this? I know dad used to get excited about muggle nonsense but this is just..."

Pepper and Hermione exchanged dark looks at Ron's jubilation. They were balancing on a knife edge. If, at any moment, they did anything too outlandish, they would be be discovered and, if they were lucky, thrown out. Worst case scenario would involve one of Black Widow's fabled interrogations. Luckily the Avengers had left them sitting comfortably on the greyscale sofas in the modern entrance hall of the compound while they discussed what to do with their uninvited guests.

_"Would you like some coffee?"_ The damn machine said again.

"That. Thing. Is. Senile." Pepper muttered under her breath, allowing her eyes flickering up to where she knew the CCTV camera was.

"Are you talking about the coffee machine? Or my husband?" Hermione growled back quietly. Despite her best efforts, Pepper couldn't keep a straight face. "Anyway, he'll provide a good enough distraction for now... Harry? Harry where are you? Do you have the extendable ears?"

The sofa sagged ever so slightly between the two woman as an invisible man slumped down between them. Hearing him gasp from the gain in his leg as he moved filled Pepper with even more worry. The wounds in his leg inflicted by the spiders still caused him pain no matter how much of the potion Padma had prepared for him he drunk. Enchanted wounds took far more time to heal than mundane injuries.

"I have the ears, I'll just cast a disillusionment charm on them so they're not picked up on the CCTV." Harry's gravelly voice muttered as he rummaged through his mole skin bag. Only a few seconds later, an ear emerged from underneath the cloak.

It was far larger than any normal human's ear but smaller than a giant's. For some reason, the liver coloured spots dotted across the pale skin and the dark brown hair protruding disgustingly from the ear's interior made Pepper think of Hagrid. Behind the ear trailed a long, whitish trail that Pepper liked to think of as a wire, but had never dared to touch. Fred had once told her the two ears and the 'wire' joining them were warm, like they were alive. After this chat, she'd had nightmares for weeks after about her head being sliced open and her ears being torn out of her skull. When Mrs Weasley had found out, she was absolutely livid with Fred.

Slowly, the disillusioned ear floated eerily across the room, moving in the same way as Nagini had slithered behind You-Know-Who as they made their way through the Forbidden Forest.

"Ok, it's ready." Harry muttered, "You ok Gin? You're looking a little pale?"

"I'm fine." Pepper whispered back, trying to adjust her position in such a way that she could hear through the other end of the ear while attempting to look as normal as possible. She wasn't entirely sure if she pulled it off, but luckily Ron was making enough raucous, she highly doubted the CCTV cameras were trained upon her and Hermione.

_"Something's not right."_ They heard Romanoff state with the utmost certainly through their end of the extendable ears._ "In all the years I've known Pepper she's never behaved like this. And it's not just today - that business with the owl and then going for brunch with that blond guy who's in the states illegally, then actually leaving Tony by disappearing to England..."_

_"She's been threatening to leave Tony for years."_ Captain Rogers pointed out. _"I'm not saying she hasn't been acting strangely, but we should at least give her the chance to tell us her side of the story... and F.R.I.D.A.Y. did a scan on the people with her; they're who they say they are; independent financial consultants..."_

"Well you can say what you want about Shacklebolt, but she's certainly saved our asses!" Pepper could hear Harry's grin beneath the cloak. Now was not the time to be placing Letitia Shacklebolt on trial, so both she and Hermione urgently shushed Harry, leaning in closer so they could hear better. "Sorry. Forgot I didn't exist." Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes. If his complaint was a bid to get some kind of pitiful attention from his sister and best friend, it failed.

_"Might I make a suggestion?"_ Vision piped up. _"I believe it would be in our best interests to contact Mr Stark..."_

_"We don't need him."_ Wilson protested. _"I bet you anything I know who's behind all these weird things..."_

_"If you say a man the size of an ant, I will personally see to it that you cannot say anything for the rest of your life."_ Romanoff threatened, as casually as if she was discussing the weather.

_"We cant start fighting amongst ourselves."_ Captain Rogers sighed_. "C'mon team, maybe she's telling the truth, or maybe someone is coercing her somehow..."_

_"So you're saying..."_ Wilson spoke slowly and thoughtfully._ "There's a chance someone cut off her face and is posing as her? Like in that movie... what was it called? Face off!"_

_"No, Sam. Literally no one was thinking that."_ Romanoff told him, her voice slow and bordering on patronising. _"I was thinking more on the lines of someone's threatening her. My money would be on the blond guy the tabloids photographed her with."_

_"Could she have been brainwashed?"_ Maximoff ventured shyly. The mere mention of brainwashing made everyone else uncomfortable, especially after the havoc she had cause the year before. From the awkward way she spoke, it was clear that she still wasn't sure about her place in the team and, by the silence that followed, it was obvious that a few people still couldn't trust her a hundred percent.

_"You'd know all about that wouldn't you."_ Romanoff muttered darkly.

_"Romanoff, what did I just say about fighting?"_ Captain Rogers intervened, his voice the same one a person would use to discipline naughty school children. Of course he'd see the best in Wanda Maximoff; he saw the best in everyone. Pepper felt the guilt rise up once more in her stomach.

There was still time to go back on what she said and tell them the truth, but she daren't. The best place for the artefact and whatever it was connected to was the ministry of magic; if they handed everything they had over to the avengers, it would be far too simple for another witch or wizard to break in and steal it. Despite their super-human skills, Pepper didn't like their chances against Malfoy and his cronies.

"They're coming out!" Hermione hissed desperately at Harry, bouncing up and down in her seat in a similar way to which she'd answer questions at school. At twice the speed of which the ear had snaked is way to the door, it zoomed back across the room with the aid of a little extra magic, accidentally revealing one of Harry's shoes as it whizzed through the folds of the cloak. Pepper stood up quickly as the Avengers left their little room, tactically stepping in front of her brother while he sorted out the cloak.

"Right, Ms Potts." Romanoff said, folding her arms across her chest. The last time Romanoff had called her Ms Potts had been when she'd been a SHIELD agent, working undercover in Stark Industries as an accountant called Natalie. "I hope you don't mind, but we're going to do this our way. Meaning Cap is going to interview Curley over there," she nodded to Hermione, "Sam will take Ginger while I talk to you. Sound good?"

"Well, actually..." Pepper began to say, before realising that she couldn't say no. If she insisted all three of them stayed together, they'd think Ron and Hermione were the bad guys. However, she didn't particularly relish the idea of Ron being separated from them. She cast a worried glance in his direction; he was still deep in conversation with the damn coffee machine. While the other Avengers followed her gaze, Pepper risked a glance at Hermione, who nodded imperceptibly. It was time. "It sounds like a great idea." She smiled warmly. "Can I just pop to the loo before we start please? I've had an extremely long journey."

"Sure." Romanoff's shrug almost looked casual, but Pepper could see that the spy was just as on edge as she was. "I'll come with you."

As they left the room, Pepper cast one glance back to Hermione and Ron, adding a comforting smile when she made eye contact. That smile gave Harry precious seconds to quickly whizz silently through the door before Romanoff closed it behind her. Once it was closed, Pepper could hear the click of the lock.

The toilets were down a bright white corridor, who's walls were covered in modern art that Pepper had spend an agonising amount of time picking out. Not one person, not even the overly polite world war two Captain, had ever thanked her or commented on how the pieces complimented each other. She couldn't help but wonder whether Harry was staring around with interest, the way he used to do at Hogwarts, or whether he was only concentrating on the task ahead.

Romanoff swiped her key card on the pad outside the ladies and stood back to let Pepper in. Smiling, Pepper walked straight into the marble covered room with the ridiculously unnecessary water fountain in the centre. She walked as if she had nothing to hide and didn't turn until she saw a red jet of light in her peripheral vision, followed by a loud thump. Desperate to see what had happened, Pepper whirled around. However, the moment the spell had been cast, the electrics started to falter making the lights switch on and off so frequently it gave Pepper a headache. When the effect of the magic finally died down a few seconds later, Pepper finally saw what her brother had done.

"Oh my god, Natasha!" Pepper squealed, crouching down gracefully beside the former KGB spy, who was sprawled, unconscious on the marble floor. This wasn't right. She stared in horror at the blood spilling out of a gash on Romanoff's forehead; she must have caught it on something as she fell.

"She's ok." Harry murmured, sticking his head out of the cloak. "She's just knocked out." Pepper gobsmacked stared at the sickening sight of her brother's floating head.

"This wasn't part of the plan Harry!" Pepper had intended to whisper, but her voice broke under the stress become a shrill squeal that made her brother play with his ears for a few seconds with his invisible hands. "No one was supposed to get hurt!"

"Well we weren't supposed to be escorted to the toilets either." He rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you have be just a little bit flexible, Virginia."

"Don't you dare turn this around like I've screwed up! I've worked my ass off planning this stupid heist for you. I've betrayed my friends for you. I've betrayed the man I love for you." She raised her voice, jabbing her finger into her brother's invisible chest. "They're good people! They don't deserve to be knocked unconscious, their bodies bound and memories modified!"

"I know!" Harry said calmly, desperately trying to mollify her in case one of the Avengers heard her outburst and came running.  
"No you don't! You don't have a clue what I'm doing for you."

Placing her head in her hands, Pepper thought deeply about her options. She had to carry on. They needed to find out what the artefact was; only then could they hope to stop whatever Malfoy was planning. If she turned back and begged the Avengers for help, they wouldn't help her. Not after what Harry had done to Natasha. With a loud sniff, Pepper gathered her emotions and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Harry." She whispered.

"No, you're right Gin. I don't have a clue what you're going though." He smiled faintly. "If you want to turn back, I won't blame you."

"Yeah you would." There was a half smile on her face as she spoke, remembering the part in Harry's memory where his team had placed a bet on when he'd say those exact words. "But I won't abandon you again, I can carry on." She walked into the centre of the bathroom and standing underneath the smoke alarm. Talking a deep breath, she pointed her wand up at the sensor and whispered; "_incendio_!" She was concentrating so hard on the spell she almost gave herself a nosebleed. Although the lights flickered once, not even the faintest puff of smoke emerged from the end of her wand.

She looked miserably at Harry, who was trying really hard not to tease her at her dreadful attempts of magic. However, she could see the ends of his mouth twitching upwards as she failed on her second attempt as well. Irritation rode up inside her, replacing some of the guilt that filled her gut. Sighing heavily, Pepper switched places with him, so she was propping the bathroom door open with her foot. Wordlessly, he cast the spell. The lights began to flicker manically again as a small flame appeared at the tip of his wand that slowly grew, like a time-lapse video of the stem of a flower breaking free from its underground prison. It curled and crackled gently, until it kissed the tip of the fire alarm... Then the high pitched squealing noise started blaring throughout the entire compound.

"Hurry Harry!" She pleaded, as Harry grabbed Romanoff's shoulders and dragged her out of the bathroom awkwardly.

They had approximately three seconds before the fire safety systems kicked in. This would cause the doors and windows to seal themselves and the air to be sucked out of the room. F.R.I.D.A.Y. could supposedly detect when there was a human in a room and allow just enough air to keep them alive. However, their magic had already started to mess up the electronic systems, and Pepper couldn't live with herself if anything else happened to Romanoff, or any of her other friends.

In the corridor, every single door had already sealed themselves as Pepper had expected they would. Only Vision and perhaps Wanda could access the corridor, and, by the time they'd thought of doing this, Pepper and Harry would hopefully already have the information they came for. Finally the plan was back on schedule.

"Which way to the lab?" Harry asked. Pepper stood for a moment, getting her bearings.

"It's this way." She pointed to the door at the end of the corridor and, after apologetically borrowing Romanoff's security pass by prising it off her belt, Pepper started walking towards it. Her steps were so fast, Harry had to jog to keep up. "Cover your head, I'd hate for them to see a disembodied head on CCTV." Knowing better than to question her, Harry did as she ordered.

The Heist was on!

* * *

_**Thanks for reading and for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter!**_

_**I genuinely can't believe how many people are following this story! Thank you guys so much :) I'm also working on an idea merging Supergirl and the MCU as an alternative Captain Marvel - would that be something you guys would be interesting in reading? **_

_**For this chapter I was trying to imagine how the avengers compound would work and the first thing I thought of was the toaster in Red Dwarf (I don't know if anyone's seen it) but it constantly asks if anyone wants any toasted bread product, which was my inspiration for the coffee machine. I have a feeling I saw a tv show or movie where the main characters broke into an art gallery and the burglar alarm locked them in the room and sucked all the air out - which would be effective to get rid of fires (it might have been white collar?) so that's where that idea came from, although Tony's system would identify if there was any life in the room (theoretically). I was thinking magic would completely mess up the electrics, and since the whole compound is completely dependent on technology and electricity, the systems are going to go haywire. **_

_**Anyway, I hope you're enjoying it so far! Thanks again :D **_


	15. The Heist

_"Would you like some coffee?" _

The high female voice of the small, squarish coffee machine echoed around the now almost empty lobby of the Avengers compound. Too absorbed in his conversations with this fantastic example of muggle ingenuity, Ron hadn't noticed the deathly quiet that seemed to have descended upon them. The other two remaining people in the room stood awkwardly, staring at the strange man who had just ordered his seventeenth cup of coffee.

If he had noticed their stares, Ron probably wouldn't have acted any differently. All his life he had been humiliated by his father's fascination with muggles and irritated by his collection of plugs, which now filled a small shed in the garden. Now however, he suddenly understood exactly where his father was coming from.

Muggle's had made this amazing bit of technology. Muggles! The people who still refused to believe there was anything remotely strange in the world even when it blew up right under their noses. It was (lacking a better word) amazing!

It was terrifying...

Perhaps Hermione had been right to make muggle studies a compulsory course at Hogwarts and the ministry. When the minister had first announced this bill, Ron had moaned the longest and the loudest. As far as he was concerned, muggles were primitive. Their chess pieces didn't smash one another! The people in their posters and photographs didn't even move! Muggleborns spent absolutely ages figuring out how to write properly with a quill and sung really weird songs!

Being in this room, surrounded by some of the most hi-tech gadgets muggles had to offer made Ron begin to think that Hermione might have been right the whole time (although he'd never say that to her face or in front of their children of course). If muggles could make these things now, what could they invent in five or ten years? It was possible that, one day soon, muggles could pose a real threat on the wizarding world... a threat far more serious than the witch burnings that occurred several hundred years ago.

"Merlin's beard..." Ron muttered under his breath, reaching up to stroke his goatee.

"Merlin's what?" A heavily accented female voice said from behind him. Ron whirled around, realising for the first time that Pepper, Harry and Hermione had left him completely alone with two avengers. That had most certainly had not been part of the plan. The plan had been for Hermione to talk about muggle things while he spoke about the weather or businesses. From what Pepper had told him, the two avengers standing before him (Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff) were not the ones that would be interested in talking about the weather.

In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered the scary red haired woman (Natasha Romanoff) telling them they were going to be split up, but he had been too absorbed in conversation with the coffee machine to pay close attention to where the girls were.

"Absolutely fascinating machine." He said, his voice betraying his nerves. "I can't quite believe it can make coffee, tea and hot chocolate and converses with you. Utterly barmy!"

"Yeah it's swell." Sam said, his voice sounding more irritated than suspicious. Although 'swell' wasn't a slang term commonly used in twenty first century America, Captain America said it all the time and Sam had just picked up on it. "I think you've ordered enough coffee for now." He said, in a tone that invited no argument. He was slightly annoyed his coworkers got to interview the beautiful women, while he was stuck interrogating to a middle aged, overly eccentric English man with a beer belly.

Sheepishly, Ron took a deliberate step away from the coffee machine, and smiled irritatingly at Sam and Wanda. They stood, staring at each other in awkward silence, an intense tension weighing on each of their shoulders.

_"How about a cup of tea, to ease the tension?" _The coffee machine suggested confidently, making all their stomach's lurch in shock. "Or hot chocolate to boost serotonin levels and calm you down?"

"Why does that thing think every problem can be solved with a hot beverage?" Wanda rolled her eyes dramatically. "Don't even think about answering that, or I'll disconnect your speakers again!" She snapped quickly to the poor machine, pointing a finger at it that was shrouded in a faint red mist at it.

_"Hey, hey, hey! You try to disconnect my speaker again and I will call the cops...or worse the media! Tell them that the Avengers are mutilating me, how would that help your precious reputation, eh?" The coffee machine squealed. "Just because you fellas can't appreciate a coffee machine with more importance and intelligence than the pair of you...OW!"_

The exclamation of agony was superficial since the coffee machine was technically a chunk of metal that couldn't feel pain. All the same, Ron felt a little guilty that he'd allowed such brutality. There was now a small, fist shaped dent imprinted into the metal outer casing of the machine. Why was it that whenever something wasn't working properly all muggles first instinct was to hit it? He'd first spotted this trait observing his father-in-law viciously attaching his arm chair when the reclining function failed to deploy immediately after he pressed the button.

"Did that help?" Ron asked as innocently as he could.

"No." Sam growled, as Wanda smirked the same way Ron's children smirked whenever he did anything a tiny bit stupid.

"Did it hurt?"

"Obviously." In the background, the coffee machine chucked to itself. "Let's go outside. I don't think Stark would be particularly delighted if I place the multimillion dollar, psychopathic coffee machine in the furnace until it turns to soup."

_"Did somebody say soup?" _The coffee machine asked hopefully. Evidently, there were no end to it's talent (as long as you wanted warm liquid). Ron assumed Sam and Wanda wouldn't take too kindly to him asking what kind of soup the coffee machine could make.

While Sam and Wanda turned to walk outside, Ron lingered behind, staring at the coffee machine. It would be an awful shame for the fist-sized dent to stay forever in the top of the the machine, especially when it was expensive. Ron had barely grasped the exchange rate between pounds and galleons, so the little green dollar bills were utterly baffling to him... yet multimillion dollars sounded like quite a lot... he ought to fix it. Subtly, he pulled his wand from his sleeve and whispered;

_"Reparo." _

As coffee machine fixed itself, the lights began to flicker. The doors sealed themselves and an alarm began blaring. Ron gaped, looking upwards towards the ceiling, wondering whether this was his fault. Pepper had told him not to use magic, but that was such a small spell. Hermione had been able to do it before they even started their first year at Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "What's going on?" When he looked around, Sam and Wanda were already outside the compound, yelling frantically through the reinforced, bullet proof glass.

"The fire alarms." Sam shouted, banging on the doors as if that would get them to open. Of course he would be hitting them. "The whole compound's on lockdown..."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't caused this mayhem; Pepper and Harry had. Part of their plan was to set off the fire alarm to seal the building so no one could follow them... only that plan hinged on everyone remaining trapped inside the compound... And Sam and Wanda were outside.

"Wanda, get the doors open!" Sam yelled just as Ron pulled his wand from his sleeve again. A mysterious red light surrounded the doors and they slowly began to part. Wanda's whole body was clenched in concentration, sweat started to form on her brow...

"_Bombarda_!" Ron hissed, oblivious to what was happening on the other side of the frosted glass. The glass shattered. The alarms stopped screaming. The whole compound was plunged into darkness as the lights failed.

Pepper had warned him not to use magic... Ron swallowed loudly. His eyes met Sam's and for a moment, he thought Sam had seen what he had done. However, it soon became apparent that neither of them had a clue what had happened.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked.

"I promise it wasn't me." Wanda said nervously to Sam.

"I know." Sam smiled at her. "I've seen you do stuff like that a thousand times in training..." He paused as if waiting for instructions, then realised that, in that moment, he was the highest ranking Avenger. "Mr Weasley..."

"Call me Ron. Mr Weasley was my father and my four brothers."

"Right." Sam nodded. "Well, Ron, please leave the compound, before it decides to seal you in and suck the air out of the room." As Ron did as he was bid, Sam did one final sweep of the front room with his eyes. In the corner, he spotted the rucksack-shaped piece of kit that housed his wings. Quickly, he darted back inside the compound, flung the pack over his shoulder and ran out again.

"Alright?" Ron asked, still sounding like he'd seen a ghost.

"I'm good." Sam nodded. "You good?"

"Trust me, I've seen weirder stuff than this." Ron chuckled to himself. Sam felt an uncontrollable urge to find out what Ron, a man who he'd been told was some kind of financial advisor, had seen that was so much stranger than this. Now was not the time.

"You'll have to tell me about that sometime." Sam grinned, pulling his goggles over his eyes and fastening his pack properly around his shoulders and waist. "Perhaps in a _pub_ over a _pint_." Ron laughed. He wasn't laughing at Sam's joke - he didn't fully understand that Sam was teasing his English accent. He was laughing at the imagined image of Sam's draw dropping as he entered the Three Brooksticks. "For now though, I need to do an assessment of the building."

"How'd you plan to do that with the electrick out?" Ron asked, frowning.

"You'll see." Sam winked at him, shrugging what looked like a metal muggle hiking back over his shoulders. "Stand back."

Obediently, Ron and Wanda took a few steps back from Sam, both watching him intently, waiting for something exciting to happen. Seconds ticked by, making the apprehension seep out of Ron and turn to boredom...

Suddenly, Sam spouted wings. Like giant, metal hippogriff wings. Ron stared, flabbergasted as Sam took flight summersaulting in the air and landed neatly in front of them. Having seen this drill almost a thousand times, Wanda yawned.

"Did that look cool?" Sam asked as his wings folded back neatly into his rucksack. "It felt cool."

Ron's initial admiration had warn off, and he found himself rather unimpressed. According to his muggle studies courses, muggles had invented flying machines years ago and, although the technology was pretty good, it wasn't as mind blowing as the coffee machine. Growing up playing and watching quidditch made Sam's theatrics appear quite lame in comparison. Without thinking about the consequences, Ron snorted in a derogatory way.

"I've seen my kids perform better stunts... and they inherited their mum's quidditch skills." He mocked, nudging Wanda to see if she'd share the joke.

"What's quidditch?" Wanda asked slowly.

"Nothing." Ron said quickly, suddenly realising his blunder. "Absolutely nothing. That was.. quite something mate. Really... great... flying... Never seen anything like that before." He nodded repeatedly, as if trying to shake off the suspicious expressions Sam and Wanda were staring at him with. "Anyway, did you find out where the fire was?"

"I haven't found it yet..." Sam narrowed his eyes. "Wanda, keep an eye on our guest while I circle the building."

"What's the magic word?" Wanda asked, folding her arms across her chest. Ron's heart began beating so hard he wouldn't have been surprised if it had burst from his chest.

"Urgh please!" Sam rolled his eyes in Ron's direction, but Ron could only grimace back. "Please, can you keep an eye on Ron while I circle the building." "Of course I will." She smiled sweetly, as Sam shook his head incredulously before taking off to circle the building. "He has to learn that he is not my boss, and most certainly does not out rank me." Wanda explained to Ron.

"I get it, you're like a family." He said, raising his hands slightly in surrender. There was something in her tone that implied she'd kill him if he didn't agree... and Ron wasn't willing to take chances! "My mum drilled the value of manners into me from a young age, and she and my wife are always keen to remind me whenever I forget one." He sighed, staring at the building. "I hope my friends are ok." He hadn't intended to say those words, they just tumbled uncontrollably out of his mouth the moment he thought of his family and Hermione.

"Don't worry, we are the Avengers. We'll keep your friends safe." She risked a smile at him, before turning back to the building with bated breath. It was clear she was worrying about her friends too.

* * *

Hermione walked a few paces behind Captain Rogers in silence through the complex labyrinth that was the west wing of the Avengers compound to a room the size of a large bedroom, or a small living room. It contained a section of state of the art boxing equipment plus its own boxing ring. Hermione wasn't quite sure what they were doing there; was he going to attempt to beat the truth out of her? In one slick, practiced movement, Hermione dropped her wand from her sleeve so the tip caressed her hand. It was comforting.

When the captain turned, Hermione saw the same comforted expression on her face mirrored on his. This old fashioned boxing gym was the only place he was able to feel safe and happy, just like she felt safest curled up in her childhood room beside her mother, reading a book about magic while her mother read about dentistry. This small glimpse into his psyche made Hermione dare to smile kindly at him, while awkwardly stuffing her wand back up her sleeve.

"Hello."

"Hey." He grinned, rubbing the back of his neck trying to think of the best thing to say. "This place reminds me of home. Stark thinks I'm mad for wanting just one room in the compound without a computer."

"I understand." Hermione smiled. "Everyone needs a safe place... my office is mine." Her office with windows looking out on whatever scene she chose, normally it was the Forest of Dean or somewhere in Australia. Anywhere to make her feel closer to her parents. It also had a wall full of books; despite carrying (give or take) a hundred books with her constantly, she just liked looking at and smelling the books. It helped her think.

"Last time I felt truly safe it was the nineteen forties." He laughed. "The middle of a world war felt safer! Well, back then I knew who the bad guys were... they wore a uniform and shot at us. And now the enemy is everywhere, they could be anyone. Does that scare you?"

"I feel like there's at least a minute each day when I'm scared of one thing or another." Hermione admitted, thinking of her parents and her children. She was always scared her opposition would find a way to use her children against her. "For me, it's fear that keeps me fighting..." He gave her a funny look, and Hermione realised what she had just said. "Fighting to ensure large business protect their employees, and you are an employee of Stark industries." She added hastily, trying to cover her blunder.

"Course you're fighting from behind a desk." He teased. Her candour was helping him to relax around her. "I can't image you in a fist fight."

"On the contrary, I have an extremely powerful right hook." Hermione corrected him. "I just haven't had cause to use it for quite a while."

"I'm sensing there's a good story there, ma'am." He grinned.

"Well, if you do as I ask, there's no reason why you won't hear that story one day." She said, surprised at how flirtatious her voice had become. She was about to apologise profusely, when Captain Rogers looked into her eyes and smiled at her.

At his gaze, Hermione felt her heart begin to flutter. This was Steve Rogers. The Steve Rogers. Captain Bloody America. Her father would be so excited if he could be with her now. Not only was she talking to him, but she'd actually made him smile and laugh! She looked right at him with his tight white t-shirt that hugged his abs, and found herself actually blushing! She was a married woman with two children; she should not be blushing!

Before she could stutter her way out of the hole she'd dug herself into, the lights began to flicker and an alarm began to scream at her like out of tune heavy metal music. Hermione flicked her head around, staring in every possible direction in panic. This was part of the plan. She had to relax! It was killing her not knowing how her team were getting on; she wanted nothing more than to blast her way across the compound towards Harry, Ron and Pepper. However, she knew in her heart of hearts that she had to stick to the plan.

Using the alarms as a distraction, she reached into her handbag, which had an extendable charm on it, and pulled out something that resembled a twig. When twig stood up in her palm, and shook its little head to get it's branches standing up at the correct angle.

"Get the key card." She whispered to the little creature, who blinked blankly back at her. "The plastic covered parchment clipped to his belt." She clarified. With a nod and a squeak, the Bowtruckle leapt off her hand and sprinted towards Captain America.

"Hermione?" Steve called through the flickering light, grabbing hold her her arm. She wasn't sure whether the action was to comfort himself, or prevent her from escaping. She hoped it was the former. The way he pronounced her name, was the same way almost every single witch and wizard from the American ministry did; 'Hermy-own'. "You good?"

"Yes, yes, I'm quite alright, thank you." Hermione paused waiting for the light to flicker back on. Even at arms length; she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. "I'm terribly sorry, but my name's pronounced Herm-i-o-nee."

"Gee, I'm real sorry Hermy... Hermione." He blushed and adorable shade of pink. "Listen, we gotta go back and help the others. It looks like the compound's on lockdown but my key card should override the security..." His hand still on her arm, he lead her to the door, reaching to his belt for the card. "Woah my card's missing!" He frowned, tapping his pockets frantically.

While he was distracted, Hermione swept up the Bowtruckle and stuffed the little creature into the depths of her bag. However, when she looked back, his eyes were trained accusingly on her.

"Please may I search your bag?" Although he technically asked her for permission, there was absolutely no indication in his voice that she could decline. Out of fear of blowing the plan, Hermione passed the handbag over. The handbag with the extendable charm. The handbag containing about a hundred books, several magical creatures that had been confiscated from Rolf plus her flying feather quill and a pot of ink.

She watched apprehensively as the world's first superhero reached into her bag an pulled out... a toothbrush and toothpaste, a set of keys, a guide book on New York and a coin purse with the words 'I love Sydney' scrawled upon it. He found nothing else in the bag. When he handed it back apologetically, Hermione smiled with relief; relief that her anti-muggle charms worked even for a super-muggle.

"I'm real sorry." He said, slumping down against the door frame. "I musta dropped it somewhere, but with the lights flickering there's no chance in hell I'll see it."

"Don't you have laser vision?" Hermione asked, purposely sounding foolish and flustered as she delicately perched next to him.

"You're getting me confused with superman." He chuckled. "I'm also not strong enough to get through that door; Tony made sure nothing could penetrate that metal, except my shield of course... which is in the armoury." That sat in silence for a few moments, before he spoke again. "I just remembered where I heard your name before; Hermy-own... sorry... Hermione was the daughter of King Menelaus of Sparta and Helen of Troy in the ancient Greek story... do you know it?"

"Of course." Hermione beamed, excited to finally have someone she could discuss muggle culture with. "Helen of Troy was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. She left her husband for Prince Paris of Troy, an act that would end up causing a great war between the Greeks and the Trojans lasting ten years. The Trojans were eventually conquered by the Greeks when they woke up one morning and all the Greeks were gone. In their place was a giant wooden horse..."

"Spot on." Steve nodded. "The Trojans wheeled the horse through their gates and, at nightfall, Greeks snuck out of the horse and sacked Troy from within." Hermione saw a frown appear on his otherwise flawless, innocent face. "Kinda makes you think doesn't it?"

"What about?" Hermione asked as innocently as she could. Even so, she could feel her heart pounding heavily against her chest. From the look in his bright blue penetrating eyes, he could actually hear her heart.

"Who you can trust. For example, if we hadn't trusted Pepper and invited you three into our home, would the systems be acting up?"

"Captain Rogers, I am the CEO of a firm specialising in giving expert financial advice to large scale businesses. I am here as a favour to Ms Potts to ensure your lives aren't shattered when Stark Industries crashes, and most likely becomes bankrupt. I am not here to make the electrics go haywire and set off alarms." Hermione promised in such a way that she almost convinced herself. Steve still looked suspicious, but seemed to accept her story. "May I asked you an unrelated question?" Hermione asked, not pausing for long enough to allow the captain to either agree or disagree. "When did you get a chance to learn about the Greeks; fascinating though they are, I wouldn't have thought these stories would be on the school syllabus in the 1930s?"

"Well..." Steve said thoughtfully. "I guess I read a few stories during the war to try to find out a bit more about Hydra. It didn't help much though..."

Whatever he was about to say dissolved from his tongue, as the lights failed, plunging the pair into complete darkness. A few moments later, the sirens failed as well. If a pin dropped on the other side of the room, Hermione and Steve would have heard it. All they heard however, was their own breathing and a very faint hiss.

"What's that sound?" Hermione whispered.

"The air being sucked out the room." Steve muttered after a few moments silence. "Stark's damn fire safety regulations... it means we have about a half hour of air left." His voice sounded strained, as if he was speaking through clenched teeth. "There's no cell service in here either." Hermione felt a chill run through her body. This was it. Everything lay in the hands of Pepper and Harry Potter.

* * *

"_Lumos_." Harry whispered the moment the corridors turned pitch black. It was an instinctive reaction to the sudden darkness, Pepper knew, but all the same she cruelly snatched his wand out of his outstretched hand and snapped:

"_Knox_!" To her surprise, her brother's wand did as she requested. Breathing a sigh of relief, Pepper handed the wand back to her brother. "No more magic." She ordered, pulling her mobile out of her handbag and illuminating their path with the built in torch. It was a weaker light than that cast by their wands and flickered every so often as a result of the residual magic in the air. She could feel it whirring around them like a cloud of mosquitoes feasting upon wildebeest just after the first summer rains in Africa.

Within five minutes, the magical particles had slaughtered Pepper's phone's battery life from eighty percent to eighteen percent. At least she thought it was a result of the magic; it could have just been because the phone was an iPhone. In any case, she felt relieved when she and harry arrived at the second to last door they had to navigate through to reach the laboratory.

While the majority of files had been digitalised, Stark had erected a crude filing cabinet containing redacted paper copies of most of the files. Although this posed an issue for security, it was something Captain Rogers had requested as he detested reading off a screen. Although it was impossible for him to get headaches from staring at a computer for too long, he insisted that he did. While the others had mocked the world war two veteran, Pepper had supported him and eventually convinced Stark that the filing cabinet had its advantages. It was lucky she had.

At the end of the corridor, Pepper swiped Romanoff's key card and waited for a few seconds for the door to slide open. With the fire safety systems in place, it would take a minute or so for the corridor to fill with oxygen once more and for the door to slide open... Only a minute passed. Then two minutes passed. After five minutes, Pepper began to get concerned and swiped the card again. Still nothing happened.

"Oh God, no!" Pepper whispered, swiping it a third time. "The doors aren't working." As her stress levels began to overflow, Pepper chewed on her lip. It was a habit that had taken years and years of her life to break, and she hated how quickly she'd fallen back into old habits. "Rolf lent you a Bowtruckle right? For picking locks?"

"There's no lock for it to pick." Harry pulled the cloak off his head and squinted at the door. "It's all automatic... I don't even know if _alohomora _would work." He frowned, deep in thought. Pepper began to tap her bare foot frantically, thinking back to one of the first time she'd met Phil Coulson. He'd used a small explosive device to get through one of the doors at the old Stark Industries headquarters, but unfortunately they didn't have anything like that... except for their wands. Pepper and Harry came to the same conclusion at exactly the same time, but Harry was the one to say it aloud. "_Bombarda_ would work. It was how Hermione and I freed Sirius in our third year."

"No more magic." Pepper repeated, more uncertainly.

As far as she could tell, there was no way forward without magic. However, they'd already messed up the lights, the doors and goodness knows what else. Anymore magic they could mess up the air filtration system. While Hermione and Ron would help Captain Rogers, Wilson and Maximoff, Romanoff had been knocked unconscious with the body-bind curse on her. She could die if the corridor decided to start sucking the air out of the room. Pepper couldn't let that happen.

But...

Even if they could somehow get the door open without magic, they'd need a bubble head charm to get through without air. They'd need to get into the electronically guarded safe that only opened to Stark and Captain Rogers' fingerprints and iris scanners. The'd need magic eventually. It was impossible to do without either magic or Tony Stark.

"We have to don't we?" She realised. "We have to use magic."

"Yes." Harry whispered. "But I promise you, we'll be back in time to save your friend." She stared into his bright green, sincere eyes. It was like the time he promised her that the Dursley's would never hurt her, even when she agreed to go to Hogwarts. Like the time he promised her he'd survive the tri-wizard tournament. Like the time he promised her he'd save her from Voldemort and the time he'd promised her he'd always be her big brother, and always be there to protect her. She felt tears in her pale blue eyes, and, without thinking, her hand touched the invisible cars on her right forearm. "Please trust me."

"I trust you." She whispered.

"Together then." He smiled. "Ready?"

Simultaneously, Pepper and the invisible Harry lifted their wand arms in preparation of the spell. At the last second, he smiled at her and she smiled straight back.

"_Bombarda_!" They yelled.

The door flew with a loud crash off its hinges and soured across the adjoining corridor, leaving huge gashes in the fragile walls. Pepper winced as a few of her expensive, carefully selected paintings toppled off the walls.

"Bubble head charm." Harry prompted her. Pepper nodded and, for the first time since she reentered the Wizarding world, her wand did exactly what she wanted it to do. "Well done, little sister." Harry grinned, grabbing her soft hand in his calloused fingers. Together, they ran down the corridor and, after another blast of magic, entered the laboratory.

Once inside the clinical white room, littered with expensive metal objects that was probably worth more than literally every piece of art that lined the corridors put together, Pepper walked straight to the safe and boldly pointed her wand at the lock. In the past she would have screamed and cowered at the explosions, but she'd seen too much to panic now.

"_Bombar_..." She began to say, but was interrupted by a soft, robotic, English voice.

"Ms. Potts." Screaming in shock, Pepper spun around. He hand flew to her chest as if to quell her racing heart. Harry, now free from the folds of the cloak, was pointing his wand directly at Vision's reddish coloured head floating through the floor like a ghost. "Forgive my brazenness, but I'm afraid you do not have clearance to be in this room. Also, with the oxygen percentage in this room, it's physically impossible for you, and your formally invisible friend to still be conscious in here. Now I have a few questions, and I'd appreciate it if you'd give me truthful answers. I'll know if you lie." He said, pointing to the gem stone in his forehead. "With this, I can read your body language when you respond to my questions, like a polygraph, only eight hundred and thirty six times more accurate. Now, I'd like to start by asking who your friend is."

"This is Harry Potter." Pepper admitted, looking sideways at Harry who was still clutching his wand. "He's my big brother."

"That's a lie." Vision said. A blast of yellow light erupted from the stone in his head, burning a hole in the white laminate flooring of the laboratory inches from Pepper's toes. She let out a little shriek, leaping backwards. The shock caused her fingers to loosen around her wand, and it clattered to the floor, causing red sparks to shower across the room. She didn't dare move to pick it up. "I will give you one more chance to tell me the whole truth."

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_**Thanks for reading! I split this chapter into three sections, one for each Ron, Sam and Wanda, Hermione and Steve and Pepper, Harry and Vision so we know how each of the characters is dealing with the black out.**_

_**Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter I've been tinkering with this chapter for so long, and just decided to post it how it was! I'm a little curious to hear whether anyone can guess why Vision thinks Pepper's lying when he's asking who Harry is...**_

_**There's a few references to Hermione's parents - like the coin purse saying 'I love Sydney' would be from her parents, since they moved to Australia in the seventh book after Hermione modified their memories**__**. I like to think she met up with them after the war and began to build up a relationship with them again. I don't know if it would be possible for her to give them their memories back - the staff at St Mungos weren't able to do that for Gilderoy Lockhart - do any of you have any idea if this is possible? **__**I heard a report a while ago saying that lots of people reading the books were pronouncing Hermione's name Hermy-own, which caused JK Rowling to add in the fourth book Hermione explaining to Krum how to say her name which was kinda for the reader as well... It's with this in mind that I've explained how to say her name in this.**_


	16. The Infinity Stones

Polygraphs are notoriously inaccurate. Before Iron Man, Stark industries had become embroiled in a number of lawsuits thanks to Tony's ethically questionable relationships with various beautiful women. In several of these cases, Pepper had been asked to give a polygraph and every time she'd aced it, even when she was telling a white lie. She always prided herself in being able to keep her head under intense questioning which was very handy when entering a press conference. There were a few times when a huge amount of stress (usually over something Tony had done) caused her to lose control.

This was one of those moments.

Vision had floated completely out of the floor and was now hovering about a foot above the ground so he towered over Pepper and Harry. Heart beating at a thousand miles per hour, Pepper glanced nervously at Harry who seemed completely blasé about the whole situation.

"We are telling the truth." He said, walking forwards as if this were a casual conversation. In doing so, he 'accidentally' knocked Pepper's wand with the toe of his dragon hide boots, sending it whizzing towards her in a shower of golden sparks. Vision lurched backwards, clearly thinking they had just ignited some sort of fire cracker, but relaxed visibly when Pepper scooped it up into her hands and instantly felt safe.

She'd never truly understood why Tony couldn't give up being Iron Man until that moment, when she felt her wand humming happily in her hand. He got a certain thrill out of souring through the air and a validation from saving people. It was an addiction. And, like any addiction, once you fall off the wagon it's twice as hard to give it up again. Perhaps magic for her was a similar addiction; that would explain why muggle borns overhauled their entire lives to be surrounded by the thing they craved so badly.

"I take it you are aware that F.R.I.D.A.Y. is malfunctioning?" Vision asked them, his voice completely calm and even. If not for his aggressive body language, Pepper would have thought he was remarking on something as mundane as the quidditch league tables. No. _Baseball_ league tables (if she didn't want to become embroiled in the magical world once more, she was going to have to stop thinking like a witch). "When the fire alarm was activated, F.R.I.D.A.Y. began to remove air from all sealed rooms in the compound... Natasha could have died."

"Is she..."

"She's fine. I saved her." Vision assured her. "The others haven't been so lucky. Captain Rogers and your friend Ms Granger are unaccounted for. It was a miracle I was able to find you... _the two_ of you." He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. Was it even possible for him to have a headache? "From moment I laid eyes on you, Ms Granger and Mr Weasley, I knew something was wrong. I knew I was missing something... part of me knew I was missing a fourth person... I could almost see you."

"Fascinating." Harry murmured.

"Is that all you have to say?" His voice became increasingly agitated with every passing second. "People are in danger. Everyone downstairs is worried about you, Ms Potts. I was worried about you. But you weren't in danger. You were gallivanting around the compound with a brother you've never mentioned to anyone before. I can't even begin to fathom how you're actually breathing right now!" He didn't need to breathe, so he didn't pause for breath as he spoke.

"We never intended for this to happen." Pepper said feebly. All the adrenaline and excitement she had felt earlier left her, making her feel strangely heavy, deflated and, most importantly, ashamed. "We are so, so sorry."

"Right now, I don't want an apology." Vision snapped, his normally gentle voice sounding colder somehow. "I want-"

"Answers." Harry exhaled loudly in submission. "Trust me when I say that I know the feeling. I spent most of my early life being lied to, used and manipulated. There was a time when all I had was Pepper. I took her for granted and ended up pushing her to another continent." His voice was low and ashamed, and Pepper knew he was telling the truth. "I'm still taking you for granted." he said, turning to Pepper, his bright green eyes begging her forgiveness. "You said to just talk to the Avengers and I dismissed you. Then when you agreed to help with the heist, I've ignored your advice at almost every turn. So this time, I'm going to do whatever you say. I trust your gut, little sister."

"Thank you, big brother." She smiled warmly at him. "Although I'm technically taller than you..." Reluctantly, Harry grinned, rolling his eyes in the way every big brother rolls their eyes when his little sister is being particularly annoying. Vision seemed especially confused by the unexpected emotions that had suddenly overcome the people he was attempting to interrogate. Pepper decided to give him what he wanted before he called the other Avengers and turned this into a fight. Even with magic, she didn't think her and Harry stood a chance at beating them alone. "The cloak allows its user to move undetected by the human eye. Its power..." Pepper paused, her eyes settling on the golden stone nestled in his forehead. "Well, we believe its power is drawn from a source similar to the stone in your head."

Vision's eyes widened in shock. However he thought that conversation was about to go, he had not expected her to say that. His feet, that had been several inches off the ground, lowered to the floor and he regarded them with more curiosity than suspicion.

"You're telling me the power of one of the six infinity stones is somehow woven into that blanket?"

"It's a cloak." Harry said, defensively.

"When I was created, I absorbed every ounce of information known to man. The whole internet. So trust me when I tell you it's a blanket."

"It doesn't matter what it's called." Pepper interjected, hurriedly, worried the situation was about to escalate even further over something so trivial. "What matters is that it's these stones... the infinity stones... that created it. Please could you tell us more about them?"

For a moment, Vision looked like he was about to protest. He had demanded answers from them, not the other way around. However, something in Pepper's face pacified him. Despite the current events, he trusted her as much as he trusted Tony Stark.

"To my knowledge, three of these stones are accounted for. The space stone, the reality stone and the mind stone. The others are the time stone, the reality stone and the soul stone." He ticked the name of each of the stones off his fingers as he spoke. "Each have a very specific subset of powers when used correctly; the time stone can manipulate time, the reality stone will augment reality, the power stone holds an unfathomable about of power, the space stone can open portals between the worlds and is what caused all that havoc back in 2012, the mind stone holds all the knowledge in the universe and currently resides in my head. Finally, the soul stone can resurrect the dead."

Pepper chewed on her lip thoughtfully (and cursed herself for falling back into that bad habit). If their theories were correct and the hallows were somehow linked to the infinity stones, Vision's information was priceless. The invisibly cloak allowed the user to augment _reality_ to become invisible, the elder wand was the most _powerful_ wand in the world so it wasn't hard to guess which stone made up its core. There was a chance that time turners derived their powers from the time stone... but none of those stones were the one whose fate was at sake in that moment.

Her face paling quickly, Pepper turned to Harry. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as she looked into his green eyes. His mother's eyes.

"The soul stone can resurrect the dead." She echoed Vision's words.

"That's what Death's guarding!" Harry announced excitedly, smacking his hands together. "That's what the artefact will lead us to!"

"And Malfoy's looking for it!" Pepper clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. "Whatever he intends to do with it, it can't be good."

"I'm sorry." Vision interrupted, not sounding particularly sorry at all. Indeed, he appeared to be completely baffled by their whole exchange. As far as he could tell, they'd had some kind of hallucination where they'd spoken to the embodiment of Death. According to his encyclopaedic brain, such visions were fairly common for humans, especially when they'd either had a head injury or had inhaled an extreme amount of hallucinogenic drugs. "But I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about... and I have answered all your questions..."

"Of course." Pepper nodded. "Harry, give him the artefact." There was an authoritative edge in her voice that made Harry's hand flinch, part of him desperate to do as she ordered. However, his and hesitated about his mole skin bag, reluctant to trust Vision.

"Are you sure?"

"What happened to you '_trusting my gut_' and '_doing what I say_'?" She snapped. "I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't bloody sure!" She snapped. Technically, she wasn't sure, but she was an excellent bluffer under the right circumstances; she beat Tony whenever he was foolish enough to challenger her to a game of poker (he never did anymore). Harry knew her better than Tony and he believed her. With a loud, passive aggressive sigh, Harry shoved his whole arm into the bag and rifled around for the artefact.

When he'd found it, Harry reluctantly pulled the artefact out of the bag and slowly stretched his hand towards Vision's open hand. Pepper rolled her eyes, and found herself physically prising it from her brother's fingers and gently handing it to Vision without a second thought.

"We found this... we believe it's a map to the soul stone." She explained hurriedly, refusing to look guilty about not bringing it to the Avenger's attention sooner.

"Where exactly did you acquire this?" Vision breathed, handling the artefact as if it were made of glass. Pepper and Harry exchanged sheepish glances; they'd been tossing it around as if it were a tennis ball.

"Umm... that's classified." It wasn't a lie... the minister for magic had insisted that they keep this a secret. But this was not the same as an actual muggle organisation like the FBI or CIA declaring a a mission as 'classified'.

"Classified by whom?" Vision asked skeptically, instantly sensing Pepper's discomfort.

"Never you mind." Harry growled. "If you can't tell us what it is, we'll be on our way... come on Gin, this is a waste of time..."

"Wait." Vision said, sharply. When Pepper looked into his eyes, she could see he was torn. She and Harry stood frozen, as if they had the body bind curse on them. For almost ten agonising seconds, the room was so quiet she could have heard a pin drop. "You are right. Together, the two halves of the map will transport the owner to the exact location of the soul stone, and allow you to speak with its guardian."

"Harry spoke to the guardian once before using this half of the map." Pepper admitted. "It's fitting the the guardian of the soul stone was Death himself."

"There is no physical embodiment of Death." Vision frowned... well, Pepper supposed he frowned, it was hard to identify the facial expressions of a being that was missing eyebrows. Pepper chewed on her lip again, rather confused by his statement.

Could it be that he was mistaken? She had seen Death in Harry's memory. She could never forget the hollowed out eye sockets, the black cloak floating eerily despite the lack of wind, and the bright red skull... On the brink of an epiphany, Pepper's train of thought was broken by Vision's voice.

"And I must tell Captain Rogers and Mr Stark about this. If the soul stone is to be retrieved, we must make sure it is done by the correct organisation."

"Couldn't agree more." Harry smiled, high bright green eyes flickering to Pepper. For a few moments, he stared at her questioningly as if he was silently trying to ask her permission. Confused, she frowned ever so slightly, trying to figure out what he was asking. Harry's eyes flicked from her face to Vision and back to her wand. It didn't take her long to understand what he was asking.

"No. No way Harry!" Pepper said, shaking her head fiercely.

"It's the only way." Harry promised. "Do you really want Stark involved?"

Pepper hesitated, trying to figure out the answer to his question. Part of her ached to see Tony again; to hold him in her arms and ensure he was ok... but at the same time she had to protect him. Getting involved with whatever Malfoy was planning was far too dangerous. She knew over a dozen spells that could disintegrate his armour and render him unconscious, and she had never even finished her final year.

She felt a desperate itch in her forearm that she didn't allow herself to scratch. However, the scar proved as a useful reminder of what Wizards were capable of. Her uncertain blue eyes met Harry's determined green eyes, and after what felt like an age, she nodded ever so slightly. In the same heartbeat, Harry spun around on his heel and pointed his wand at Vision.

"_Petrificas Totallus!_" He yelled. Vision, who had never experienced this kind of magic before, slumped onto the ground. Harry crouched down beside the limp body of Pepper's friend, he looked sad as he whispered the word; "_obliviate_." He was always so respectful when wiping someone's memory, even if it was just an hour.

"I can't believe I let you do that." Pepper whispered, rubbing her face with her hands. She was shaking. Harry looked up at her, saying nothing. "I know, I know... this is our job and I volunteered for this. We have what we came for; we know what Malfoy's looking for and we know how to find it..." With every passing second, Pepper became more agitated. The pitch of her voice gradually increased. "...but what if we find it? Malfoy is bound to find out. We will have done the grunt work and he could simply stroll into the ministry and take it without harming a hair on his head. He could use it to do whatever he likes... Harry, he could bring back you-know-who!"

"Say his name, little sister." Harry ordered, a hunt of disgust in his voice. Stubbornly, Pepper crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him, refusing to do as he asks. Finally, Harry sighed, walked over to Pepper and placed his hands lightly on her arms. "He won't bring him back, Gin." He promised staring into her eyes comfortingly.

Pepper stared right back at him. She could see a tiny spark in his green eyes, one he probably didn't even realise was there. He wore the expression he'd worn when Dudley finished up all the apple pie when Harry had so desperately wanted a slice. it was the expression he'd worn when Pepper went out to play with the neighbour hood kids who wouldn't dare go near him. It was the expression he'd worn when Ginny was dating Dean Thomas. It was the expression he'd worn while he wiled away the hours staring into the mirror of Erised. It was the expression he'd worn when he first heard of the deathly hallows...

"Falcon." Harry said suddenly, just as Pepper was about to reprimand him for lusting after such a dangerous artefact. Harry jumped away from her and threw the cloak over his head. "Pepper get down for crying out loud! Sam Bloody Wilson is about to launch himself through that window!"

She turned around and tried to gasp, but no air entered her lungs. The bubble head charm she had so proudly created, had failed. Her face turned scarlet and she clawed her long next to try and find the smallest spec of air in the room.

The white and grey room dissolved into something that looked to her oxygen starved brain, like some kind of whirlpool spinning uncontrollably. She didn't realise she was falling when she fell. She didn't feel her head crack against the marble floor. She felt like she was sleeping. Like she'd been sleeping for hours on end. When her eyes opened she half expected everything to be a dream, that she would wake up in her silk sheets with Tony slumbering beside her...

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

**_Thanks for reading, I'm sorry for the delay in publishing, life has gotten in the way! Thanks to coronavirus I should have more time to write so hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters out! _**


	17. Johann Schmidt

He'd once bet a guy ten bucks that nothing else could surprise him, but the world kept throwing curve balls at him.

At that particular moment in time, it was Hermione who was surprising Steve. Any other civilian would have started to panic by now; after all, the air had been draining from the room for about two minutes. For all he knew, both he and Hermione had been headed to their deaths. While he was at peace with the idea of joining his friends and family, he was sure as hell not going to take an unarmed civilian with him.

While he pounded on the reinforced door, Hermione had sat still. Steve had guessed that she was in shock, but she looked cool as a cucumber. Perhaps she thought he had a trick under his sleeve to get them out. He was supposed to be Captain America after all, the world's first super hero. He wasn't supposed to be so... useless.

"Did you hear that?" Hermione asked, as casually as if she were discussing the weather. "That click?" Steve had missed it. However, as he strained his ears he noticed one difference in the sounds of the room; the faint sucking noise from the vents had disappeared.

"They system's failed." He told her excitedly.

"Meaning the air is no longer being drained out and we will no longer suffocate to death." Hermione summarised efficiently with a short, sharp, shrug of her shoulders. "Stroke of luck."

Something in her tone made him pause. It was almost as if she'd been expecting this to happen. Could she have abilities of her own that would make her accurately predict the future or control the air conditioning somehow. Narrowing his eyes, Steve stared at her for a little longer than was polite. When she looked back, he found himself blushing and diverted his gaze. He was being ludicrous. If there were other enhanced people out there, Stark would know about it, and they would have been informed.

"Perhaps we could use this situation to our advantage Captain?" Hermione said. "We could discuss the financial plan my associate and I drew up for the Avengers?" The suggestion was innocent enough, but something in her voice made him pause.

He'd almost forgotten the strange excuse Pepper had given for them arriving at the compound. Now he was thinking about it, it was weird. This whole situation was weird. Why wouldn't Stark have told them about financial troubles? The way Pepper had explained it to him earlier, Stark didn't even realise he was burning up his assets. His mind stretched back to a conversation Natasha and Stark had had a while back when she was asking for a raise.

_"I don't even know how much I'm paying you now!" Tony had argued._

_"Which mean's you can afford it." Natasha had said, quick witted as ever._

"Captain? Steve?" Caught up in his own thoughts, Steve took a few seconds longer to answer than he should have done. Long enough to make him look a little bit foolish.  
"Sorry." He said suddenly. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to get to know the person I'm doing business with a bit better before investing in their services." He replied, trying to sound as suave as Bucky used to when talking to a beautiful dame. If it was working, Hermione showed no sign that he was charming her. Instead she nodded briskly, opening her hands ever so slightly as if to imply she was an open book. "Well, since we've got time, how about you tell me the story of that guy you socked."

"Oh." Even in the darkness, Steve's super soldier senses picked up the faint blush on her cheeks, along with her slightly elevated heart rate. "I'm afraid it's not a particularly riveting story." She admitted, Steve waited patiently. After a few seconds, Hermione sighed and carried on talking. "When I was fourteen I attended a boarding school for... gifted individuals. The same school Pepper attended actually; I was very close with her older brother."

"Pepper has a brother?" Steve was surprised at this revelation. Pepper had never mentioned to him that she'd studied at an English boarding school, nor that she had any siblings. Something churned in his stomach as he though of all the times he'd opened up to her about Bucky and his parents, and she'd never even deigned to mention anything about her past. He wondered if Tony knew.

"Yes." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you going to let me tell the story or are you going to keep interrupting?"

"Sorry ma'am." He couldn't help but smile at her authoritative tone. "Please continue."

"Well, my friends and I knew the game keeper... in this climate saying this sounds shadier than it actually was, but I promise nothing there was untoward about it. We used to visit him at break times and weekends for his home made cakes and stupendous cups of tea. In our third year, his hippo... I mean his dog..." She winced as she paused for breath (when she was talking a story, Steve had noticed she rarely stopped for breath). Steve frowned. He knew what it was to accidentally say the wrong name in a conversation, but he had never heard anyone get confused between a hippo and a dog. "His dog bit a fellow student called Malfoy, the dog barely scratched him but the Malfoy's father was furious. He milked it for all it was worth and his father threatened to sew the school if poor Buckbeak wasn't put down. We had just come back from saying our farewells to the poor pooch when we saw Malfoy. He and his friends were laughing about the dog's imminent death, so I punched him in right in the jaw."

It was clear that Steve got the impression there were a few things she was leaving out of the story, but he couldn't quite grasp the scale of Hermione's deception. Of course, it was not Hagrid's dog that had been sentenced to death, it had been the hippogriff known as Buckbeak... However, a dog was as close to the truth as Hermione dared to tell him.

"I can tell from you're voice you're proud of yourself." He grinned.

"I mean it's nothing compared to your achievements." She backtracked. "How many times have you punched Adolf Hitler in the jaw?"

"Ooh, more times than I can count." Steve laughed. When he thought back, he struggled to remember the last time he had actually laughed. In the Smithsonian, there was a video of him and Bucky laughing about something trivial. Despite being in the centre of a war zone, they had looked so carefree that Steve had yearned to go back to that time. That desire faded every so often, mostly when he was training or fighting. "But my best story is probably Red Skull."

Suddenly, the whole atmosphere in the room seemed to change. Hermione stood a little taller, her ears seeming to prick up at the mention of the man. Despite the darkness, he could see her eyes staring intensely at him, eager for more details. Was she just interested in his story? Or was this something more?

"Red skull?" Hermione asked. Her voice sounded strange, slightly higher pitched than it usually was. _Come on Hermione!_ She thought angrily to herself in a voice that sounded surprisingly similar to Ron's. _Try to sound like a normal mildly curious person!_ But she couldn't because those two words had swum up an image in her head that she was desperate to know more about. Red Skull. Unlike the depictions of death she had seen while studying ancient scrolls, the being she'd seen in Harry's memory had had a hideous scarlet head, stripped of all flesh. A Red Skull. "Who's that?"

"The founder of Hydra. Also known as Johann Schmidt." Steve said, sounding slightly suspicious. Hermione cursed the fact she hadn't been more discrete. He was on edge now. Funny how fragile these superheroes seemed to be; they picked up on even the slightest change in the atmosphere of a room and instantly saw it as a threat.

"And Hydra was the scientific division of the Nazis." Hermione said, nodding to herself. "My grandfather grew up during the war, he was too young to fight but whenever I visited him I used to sit and read his books on the war so I know a little... enough to know that the Nazis took Jewish scientists out of concentration camps to work for them. They didn't stop to think about the morals of their actions, they only thought about their desire for a descent nights sleep, clean clothes, proper meals and fresh water."

"Yep." Steve nodded. "One of those people was a gentleman called Dr Abraham Erskine. Also known as the man who invented the super serum that made me who I am today. Without him... well... I like to think I still would have done everything I could for the war... I just woulda done it slower." He laughed at his own joke before staring down at his own hands. "You see, the serum exaggerates your traits; goodness becomes greatness; bad becomes worse. That's how Erksine explained it to me years ago when I had no idea what I was signing up for."

"So you took the serum and became great." Hermione nodded. Her words made Steve's face flush bright red; he opened her mouth to correct her, to say he was just a normal guy from Brooklyn, but she didn't give him the chance to interrupt. "And Schmidt took it and became..."

"He became a monster." Steve whispered. "While Hitler coveted a greater Germanic empire of Aryans, Schmidt set his eyes on the whole world. With the power of the tesseract - also known as the space stone - he found a way to achieve his goal. A handful of men, the Howling Commandos and I, travelled across Europe tearing down the Hydra bases and destroying Schmidt's plans. When we attacked the last base we were... erm... we were a man short. I ended up fighting Schmidt on a plane headed for the states so I fought him and... well I don't really understand what happened. He grabbed hold of the stone to increase his own power and, in doing so, just disappeared."

"What do you mean _disappeared_?" Hermione asked, a deep frown of her face. Could he have disapparated? No! If he had magic the muggles would have never succeeded in destroying the Hydra bases. "That was right before you went into the ice right? Do you think that distorted your memories?"

"Dunno..." Steve frowned, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he tried to recall memories from over ninety years before. "No. No, I remember it clear as day. He just disappeared into thin air then I heard... I heard Agent Carter's voice over the radio asking for my coordinates. There were no traces of him when they woke me up either. It's strange."

The instant he mentioned Agent Carter he somehow looked so much younger. So much smaller. If he'd stayed a little guy perhaps Agent Carter would have fallen in love with his heart and soul and they would have lived out their days with him as an artist and stay-at-home father and her as a high flying secret agent. They could have been happy. Hermione could see in Steve's bright blue eyes that he yearned to get back to that time and live that life. It was impossible without a time turner that took you back years as opposed to hours, and all of them had been destroyed before Voldemort had infiltrated the ministry for magic all those years ago.

"She's the only woman... one of the few people who ever actually saw me for me, disregarding what I look like or what I'd done." He smiled sadly, folding his arms and hanging his head sadly. "And now there are some days where she doesn't even know me."

"I understand." Hermione whispered. Steve scoffed; far too many people said attempted to empathise with him when they had no idea what he could possibly be going through. "I do. My parents don't remember who I am." Hermione whispered. "They went through trauma when I was seventeen that damaged their memory... I've been trying to cultivate a relationship with them for years but there's so much they don't remember. It's like they're living in a different world, getting on with their lives while I'm chasing what I had when I was younger."

"Wow." Steve murmured gently, wiping a tear from Hermione's cheek with surprisingly soft fingers. With the amount of workouts, fighting and painting he'd done, she'd expected his skin to be rough and calloused. It was a long time since she'd allowed herself to be this vulnerable. She was the minster for magic. She couldn't show even an ounce of weakness without the opposition using it against her. "You really do get it."

Before Hermione could make up an answer, there was a loud crashing noise. With a small scream, Hermione leapt forward, tumbling into Steve's arms. The scene before her felt almost biblical. The solid, reinforced cement wall split perfectly down the middle and opened outwards, as if someone was curling back the pages of a book. Their dark room was suddenly flooded with such a bright light that both Steve and Hermione were almost blinded.

A faceless horde could have been chasing towards them, and they'd have absolutely no way of stopping them. Luckily, when the person who had parted the walls spoke, it was with a familiar, female, Sovakian accent.

"This looks cosy." Wanda said, a wry, half smile on her youthful face. Hermione suddenly realised Steve's arm's had inadvertently wrapped around her, and her face was buried in his muscular chest. She could see Ron in the corner of the hold Wanda had created, looking furious. Quickly, she leapt to her feet, disentangling herself from the superhero, her face burning with embarrassment.

"Don't look at me like that, Ronald." She snapped angrily, as Steve and Wanda helped her carefully out of the compound.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_**I have a feeling this chapter is going to be controversial... **_

_**I kinda jumped between Steve and Hermione's POV which I hope isn't too confusing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks also to everyone else writing things to keep us entertained while we're stuck inside, you guys are the best! And also thanks to all the medical staff, delivery drivers, shelf stackers and every other person out there risking their health at work. Stay safe everybody x**_


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